Fehr J
Abteilung Hämatologie, Departement Innere Medizin, Universitätsspital Zürich.
Hautarzt. 1991 Sep;42(9):541-4.
Although the eosinophilic granulocyte has been recognized as a blood cell type for more than 100 years, its functional significance has long remained an enigma. The introduction of successful isolation procedures resulted in rapidly progressive research efforts, but the concept of the functional role of this cell type made a full about turn between the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1970s, the role of the eosinophil was thought to be a homeostatic one, with its main task being to repair mast-cell-dependent tissue damage in parasitic and allergic disease. Further structural analysis and improved biological and clinical integration of such knowledge led to the completely revised concept of the 1980s: the eosinophil is now seen as the main culprit in the damage that accompanies allergic disease, as a result of mistaken identity between the parasite (where cytotoxic power against the aggressor is desirable) and the allergen (where the eosinophil's cytotoxic power results in self-damage). The latest research news about cytokine-dependent regulatory mechanisms governing the eosinophilic reaction supports our hope that by specific blocking of tissue hormones, such as the lymphocyte-derived IL-5, elegant ways of manipulating hypereosinophilic reactions will be found in the near future.
尽管嗜酸性粒细胞作为一种血细胞类型已被认知超过100年，但其功能意义长期以来一直是个谜。成功的分离程序的引入带来了快速推进的研究工作，但这种细胞类型的功能作用概念在20世纪70年代至80年代间发生了彻底转变。在20世纪70年代，嗜酸性粒细胞的作用被认为是一种稳态作用，其主要任务是修复寄生虫病和过敏性疾病中肥大细胞依赖性组织损伤。进一步的结构分析以及此类知识在生物学和临床方面更好的整合，导致了20世纪80年代完全修订后的概念：嗜酸性粒细胞现在被视为过敏性疾病伴随损伤的主要元凶，这是由于寄生虫（需要对攻击者具有细胞毒性能力）和变应原（嗜酸性粒细胞的细胞毒性能力会导致自身损伤）之间的错误识别。关于调控嗜酸性粒细胞反应的细胞因子依赖性调节机制的最新研究消息，支持了我们的希望，即通过特异性阻断组织激素，如淋巴细胞衍生的白细胞介素-5，在不久的将来会找到巧妙操控嗜酸性粒细胞增多反应的方法。
