Bombesin-like immunoreactivity in eosinophils. A light and electron microscopic study: effect of fixatives and cross-reactivity with various compounds.

Eosinophils immunopositive for bombesin tetradecapeptide were detected by means of light and electron microscopy in human and rat gastrointestinal tract and pulmonary tissue. This immunoreaction was only evidenced after the use of acetic acid-containing fixative such as Bouin's fluid. The dependence of this immunostaining on fixatives and time course were extensively studied. This immunoreaction promotes mainly one epitope probably associated with the C-terminal sequence. This epitope seems also to be present in other neuropeptides such as substance P (SP) and, to a lesser extent in chemotactic factors like formyl peptide (fMLP) or eosinophil chemotactic factor of anaphylaxis (ECF-A). At the electron microscopic level, the immunopositivity was associated with eosinophil membranes.