Boyce J A
Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Allergy Asthma Proc. 1997 Sep-Oct;18(5):293-300. doi: 10.2500/108854197778590489.
Eosinophils are bone-marrow-derived granulocytes that are involved in both allergic and nonallergic inflammation. They possess a diverse repertoire of functional responses and effector capabilities, including the release of preformed cytotoxic granule proteins, superoxide production, leukotriene biosynthesis, and cytokine production. Each of these functional capabilities is linked to the production of tissue damage and physiologic derangements that are characteristic of human diseases associated with eosinophil-dominated inflammation, such as asthma. This review concerns the biology of eosinophils as it pertains to the pathogenesis of allergic disease.
