Allergenicity and histamine release

In allergic individuals, the incubation of whole blood with allergens induces the release of histamine and/or inflammatory cytokines. This assay can be used to predict the allergenicity of a compound in normal population or to test different formulations of a product aimed at reducing its allergenicity in a given population.
The risk for a compound to induce IgE-independent histamine release can also be evaluated.