Eosinophils in allergy: role in disease, degranulation, and cytokines.

For over 100 years, the eosinophil has been associated with allergic disease. At present, eosinophils appear to be associated pathologically with asthma, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, and certain eye diseases. The effector functions of eosinophils appear to be derived primarily from release of lipid mediators and proteins, including cytokines and granule proteins. Eosinophil degranulation results in the release of several cytotoxic cationic granule proteins. Furthermore, release of cytokines by eosinophils and other cells involved in inflammation amplifies and regulates localized immune responses. Altogether, the eosinophil's capacity to release and be influenced by a variety of mediators, including the granule proteins and cytokines, implicates this cell in the pathology of inflammation and in the perpetuation of the inflammatory response.