T cell subsets and their soluble products regulate eosinophilia in allergic and nonallergic asthma.

Lymphokines derived from activated T cells regulate the proliferation and postmitotic differentiation of eosinophils in vitro. We investigated whether peripheral blood eosinophilia, which is a characteristic feature of both allergic and nonallergic asthma, correlates with T cell activation and lymphokine production in asthmatic patients. Flow cytometric analysis of T cell activation markers revealed that asthmatic individuals are characterized by increased numbers of IL-2R (CD25)-bearing T cell subsets. The absolute number of IL-2R+ T cells correlated with the eosinophilia observed in the asthmatic patients. Purified CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from allergic and nonallergic asthmatic individuals spontaneously secreted factors that extend the lifespan of eosinophils in vitro. T cells from normal donors displayed this effect only after polyclonal stimulation with anti-CD3 antibody. The eosinophil lifespan-extending factors were also found in sera of asthmatic patients. Identification of these factors was performed by using neutralizing antibodies against IL-3, IL-5, and granulocyte-macrophage CSF. In sera, mainly IL-5 and granulocyte-macrophage CSF were responsible for prolonged eosinophil survival, whereas granulocyte-macrophage CSF was dominant in T cell supernatants. These results indicate that T cells and secretion of lymphokines play an important regulatory function toward eosinophils, which are thought to represent major proinflammatory effector cells in certain types of asthma.