The Enigma of Eosinophil Degranulation

Eosinophils are specialized white blood cells, which are involved in the pathology of diverse allergic and nonallergic inflammatory diseases. Eosinophils are traditionally known as cytotoxic effector cells but have been suggested to additionally play a role in immunomodulation and maintenance of hom...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Timothée Fettrelet, Lea Gigon, Alexander Karaulov, Shida Yousefi, Hans-Uwe Simon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/13/7091
Description
Summary:Eosinophils are specialized white blood cells, which are involved in the pathology of diverse allergic and nonallergic inflammatory diseases. Eosinophils are traditionally known as cytotoxic effector cells but have been suggested to additionally play a role in immunomodulation and maintenance of homeostasis. The exact role of these granule-containing leukocytes in health and diseases is still a matter of debate. Degranulation is one of the key effector functions of eosinophils in response to diverse stimuli. The different degranulation patterns occurring in eosinophils (piecemeal degranulation, exocytosis and cytolysis) have been extensively studied in the last few years. However, the exact mechanism of the diverse degranulation types remains unknown and is still under investigation. In this review, we focus on recent findings and highlight the diversity of stimulation and methods used to evaluate eosinophil degranulation.
ISSN:1661-6596
1422-0067