Kay A Barry
National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, and Leukocyte Biology Section, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, Imperial College, South Kensington, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
Trends Mol Med. 2005 Apr;11(4):148-52. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2005.02.002.
Two recent papers have addressed the ever-intriguing question of the role of eosinophils in asthma. Both groups used experimental models of airway inflammation in mice that were gene targeted to selectively ablate the eosinophil lineage. One group found that eosinophils were required for both airway hyperresponsiveness and mucus accumulation. The other demonstrated a 'critical role' for the cell in airway remodelling. The results, although largely confirmatory of previous studies both in mice and humans, put the eosinophil firmly back on the asthma stage and strengthen the case for developing effective eosinophil-depleting agents for clinical use.
最近有两篇论文探讨了嗜酸性粒细胞在哮喘中所起作用这个一直很吸引人的问题。两组研究人员都使用了针对小鼠气道炎症的实验模型，这些小鼠经过基因靶向处理以选择性地消除嗜酸性粒细胞谱系。一组发现，气道高反应性和黏液积聚都需要嗜酸性粒细胞。另一组则证明了该细胞在气道重塑中具有“关键作用”。这些结果虽然在很大程度上证实了先前在小鼠和人类身上所做的研究，但将嗜酸性粒细胞再次坚定地推到了哮喘研究的舞台上，并强化了开发用于临床的有效嗜酸性粒细胞清除剂的理由。
