FIGURE 5.

Effect of carotenoids on degranulation and aggregation of FcϵRI in RBL-2H3 cells stimulated by anti-FcϵRI antibody. A and B, IgE-sensitized cells were stimulated by DNP-BSA or anti-FcϵRI antibody for 20 min after incubation with serum-free RPMI 1640 for 4 h. Aggregation of FcϵRI was detected and aggregation-positive cells were counted. The arrowhead shows the aggregation of FcϵRI. C, IgE-sensitized cells were pretreated with each carotenoid for 4 h and then stimulated by 10 μg/ml of anti-FcϵRI antibody for 30 min. Released β-hexosaminidase was measured. Values are mean ± S.D., error bars represent the S.D. *, significantly different from control, p < 0.05. The abbreviations are the same as those given in the legend to Fig. 1. FcϵRI, stimulated by anti-FcϵRI antibody.