Ultrastructural evidence for release of major basic protein-containing crystalline cores of eosinophil granules in vivo: cytotoxic potential in Crohn's disease.

Eosinophil MBP-containing granule losses, cytotoxic tissue changes, primarily affecting autotomic nervous system axons, and degranulating mast cells were present in tissues from patients with Crohn's disease. These findings support the hypothesis (9) that the eosinophil may produce damage to cells of the gastrointestinal tract in Crohn's disease.