Background The accumulation of eosinophils in lung tissue is a hallmark of asthma, and it is believed that eosinophils play a crucial pathogenic role in allergic inflammation. Therefore, eosinophils are currently considered a major therapeutic target in allergic diseases. Prostaglandin (PG) E2 exerts anti-inflammatory and broncho-protective mechanisms in asthma, but the underlying mechanisms ha...

Lead is a widely spread environmental pollutant known to affect both male and female reproductive systems in humans and experimental animals and causes infertility and other adverse effects. The present paper investigated the effects of prenatal exposure to lead on different parameters of estrogen stimulation in the uterus of the prepubertal rat. In prenatally and perinatally exposed rats, estr...

In the present work we review the existing evidence for a LPS-induced cytokine-mediated eosinophil accumulation in a model of acute inflammation. Intrathoracic administration of LPS into rodents (mice, rats or guinea pigs) induces a significant increase in the number of eosinophils recovered from the pleural fluid 24 hr later. This phenomenon is preceded by a neutrophil influx and accompanied b...

Strongyloidiasis is an infectious disease caused by the Strongyloides stercoralis larvae, which penetrate the skin, go through the lymphatic circulation, and migrate to the lungs before reaching the intestines. They mature and may cause cutaneous strongyloidiasis, known as larva currens because of the quick migratory rate of the larva. The authors describe a case in which the larvae did not fol...

Mobilization of bone marrow eosinophils is a critical early step in their trafficking to the lung during allergic inflammatory reactions. We have shown previously that the cytokine interleukin (IL)-5, generated during an allergic inflammatory reaction in the guinea pig, acts systemically to mobilize eosinophils from the bone marrow. Here, we have investigated the mechanisms underlying this rele...

Recent studies have shown that a lack of eosinophils in asthmatic airway smooth muscle (ASM) bundles in contrast to the large number of mast cells is a key feature of asthma. We hypothesized that this is caused by beta-tryptase, the predominant mast cell-specific protease, abrogating the eosinophil chemotactic activities of ASM cell-derived eosinophil chemoattractants such as eotaxin and RANTES...

Eriopis connexa (Germar) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) occurs in several countries of South America and its mass rearing is important for biological control programmes. This work evaluated biological aspects of E. connexa larva fed on eggs of Anagasta kuehniella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) frozen for one day, fresh eggs of Dia...

we report a case of human nasal nosocomial myiasis in a 69-year-old rural man with numerous live maggots in nostrils. the patient was admitted in emergency ward due to dyspnea. after 72 hours the companion of patient discovered larva. the presence of the third instar larva indicated that the infestation was not more than three days. the collected instars were cleared, fixed and morphological st...

The mechanism of cooperation between IL-5 and eotaxin for the selective accumulation of eosinophils at sites of allergic inflammation is unknown. In this investigation we have used IL-5 deficient mice to define the relationship between this cytokine and eotaxin in the regulation of blood eosinophilia and eosinophil homing and tissue accumulation. Both IL-5 and eotaxin could independently induce...