Antimicrobial Activity of Human Eosinophil Granule Proteins.

Eosinophils secrete a number of proinflammatory mediators that include cytokines, chemokines, and granule proteins which are responsible for the initiation and maintenance of inflammatory responses. The eosinophil granule proteins, ECP, EDN, MBP, and EPO, possess antimicrobial activity against bacteria, helminths, protozoa, and viruses. In this chapter, we describe various assays used to detect and quantitate the antimicrobial activities of eosinophil granule proteins, particularly ECP and EDN. We have taken a model organism for each assay and described the method for antiviral, antihelminthic, antiprotozoan, and antibacterial activity of purified eosinophil granule proteins.