In the present study, we have performed a comparative analysis of the effect of selective inhibitors of phosphodiesterase (PDE) type III, IV and V on eosinophil chemotaxis triggered by platelet activating factor (PAF) and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) in vitro. The effect of the analogues N6-2'-O-dibutyryladenosine 3':5'cyclic monophosphate (Bt2 cyclic AMP) and N2-2'-O-dibutyrylguanosine 3':5' cyclic m...

Peripheral blood and tissue eosinophilia is a prominent feature in allergic diseases and helminth infections. In cancer patients, tumor-associated tissue eosinophilia is frequently observed. Tumor-associated tissue eosinophilia can be associated with a favorable prognosis, notably in colorectal carcinoma. However, underlying mechanisms of eosinophil contribution to antitumor responses are poorl...

Using an in vivo test system, the role of the beta 1 integrin very late activation antigen-4 (VLA-4) in eosinophil accumulation in allergic and nonallergic inflammatory reactions was investigated. Eosinophil infiltration and edema formation were measured as the local accumulation of intravenously injected 111In-labeled eosinophils and 125I-human serum albumin. The inflammatory reactions investi...

Adipose tissue (AT) inflammation during obesity is mediated by immune cells and closely correlates with systemic insulin resistance. In lean AT, eosinophils are present in low but significant numbers and capable of promoting alternative macrophage activation in an IL-4/IL-13-dependent manner. In WT mice, obesity causes the proportion of AT eosinophils to decline, concomitant with inflammation a...

Experiments were performed to test the hypothesis that human eosinophil granule-derived cationic proteins stimulate vagal C-fiber afferents in the lungs and elicit pulmonary chemoreflex responses in anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats. Intratracheal instillation of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP; 1-2 mg/ml, 0.1 ml) consistently induced an irregular breathing pattern, characterized by tachypnea (...

We read with interest the article by Qiu et al (Thorax 2007;62:475–82). In this paper, neutrophils and eosinophils were identified using mouse anti-human neutrophil elastase and anti-eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), both monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). mAbs against ECP have been used to detect total eosinophils, but immunostaining techniques evidenced that the number of ECP cells was higher tha...

We investigated the mechanisms by which leukotriene receptor antagonists decrease airway eosinophil number. In a randomized, double-blind crossover study, we examined the effects of 2 weeks of treatment with pranlukast 300 mg twice a day or placebo on allergen-induced changes in airway eosinophil number and bone marrow eosinophil progenitors in 15 subjects with mild asthma. Pranlukast treatment...

Quantitative determinations were made of the capacity of isogenic bone marrow, spleen, and thymic cells from primed and/or nonprimed mice to repopulate the hemopoietic tissues and to mount an inflammatory and antibody response to specific antigen (tetanus toxoid) in heavily irradiated and reconstituted recipients. Spleen cells from primed mice but not from normal mice had the capacity to adopti...