Adhesion interactions involved in eosinophil migration through vascular endothelium.

Considerable progress has been made in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in eosinophil migration into sites of allergic inflammation. A number of differences between eosinophils and neutrophils have been observed in their pattern of adhesion interactions. These include expression of alpha 4 beta 1, alpha 4 beta 7, and alpha 6 beta 1 by eosinophils but not neutrophils and structural differences between eosinophil and neutrophil PSGL-1 associated with increased eosinophil binding to P-selectin. On the basis of current evidence the various receptors and mediators involved are summarized in FIGURE 1. Once in the tissues eosinophils may persist for several days or weeks, surviving under the influence of locally generated cytokines and this persistence may also partly explain selective tissue accumulation of eosinophils. Understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in leucocyte migration offers the possibility of selective and effective antagonists to treat allergic disease by preventing cell migration. Results in a number of animal models already offer the hope that this approach may be successful. The development of drugs that can be tested in the clinic are awaited with considerable interest.