| Abstrakt: |
Background: It is thought that there are subpopulations of eosinophils concerning cytokine production: some of them predominantly produce Th1 cytokines, while others produce Th2. Methods: By semiquantitative RT-PCR, the in vivo levels of the cytokine mRNA were measured in freshly isolated eosinophils and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 19 patients with eosinophilia, including 6 with atopic dermatitis, 4 with drug eruption, 1 with chronic dermatitis, 2 with erythroderma, 3 with bullous pemphigoid, 1 each with urticaria, adult T cell lymphoma, and hypereosinophilic syndrome, and 7 healthy individuals. Eosinophils and PBMCs were isolated by centrifugation over Ficoll-Paque and magnetic cell separation using anti-CD16 antibody. Results: The IL-4/IFN-γ ratio in eosinophils as well as PBMCs was increased and correlated well with IgE levels in atopic dermatitis. In other cytokines, such as IL-8, TNF-α and TGF-β[sub 1] , the levels of mRNA expression were variable among each sample. Conclusion: Not only helper T lymphocytes but also eosinophils may take part in the pathogenesis of cutaneous diseases by virtue of heterogeneity of Th1 and Th2 cytokine production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
