Eosinophilia and the Hypereosinophil Syndromes

Per Venge, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden

Published online: January 2006

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0002155

Eosinophilia denotes the increased number of eosinophil granulocytes in blood or tissue and is associated with a large number of human diseases. Hypereosinophilia is the condition when excessive numbers of eosinophils are produced and which often leads to serious organ damage by the eosinophils.

Keywords: eosinophil; eosinophilia; allergy; asthma; parasite

Figure 1. The figure shows the major growth factors involved in myelopoiesis and differentiation into the various end stage cells. Eosinophilopoiesis is dependent on three growth factors. GM-CSF and IL-3 expand the myeloid stem cell population. IL-5 together with transcription factors such as GATA-1, commit the myeloid stem cell to differentiate into the eosinophil lineage. IL-5 and possibly also eotaxin release eosinophils from the bone marrow to the peripheral circulation.
Figure 2. Classification of human eosinophilia. Leukaemias, leukaemia; MDS, myeloproliferative disorder; mastocytosis; T-cell lymphomas etc. CEL, chronic eosinophil leukaemia; HES, hypereosinophilic syndrome.
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 References
    Chusid MJ, Dale DC, West BC and Wolff SM (1975) The hypereosinophilic syndrome: analysis of fourteen cases with review of the literature. Medicine 54(1): 1–27.
    Cools J, Deangelo DJ, Gotlib J et al. (2003) A tyrosine kinase created by fusion of the PDGFRA and FIP1L1 genes as a therapeutic target of imatinib in idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome. New England Journal of Medicine 348: 1201–1214.
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 Further Reading
    Alam R and Busse WW (2004) The eosinophil – quo vadis?. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 113: 38–42.
    book Beeson PB and Bass D (1977) The Eosinophil. Philadelphia, London, Toronto: Saunders.
    Brito-Babapulle F (2003) The eosinophilias, including the idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome. British Journal of Haematology 121: 203–223.
    Klion AD and Nutman TB (2004) The role of eosinophils in host defense against helminth parasites. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 113: 30–37.
    Leiferman KM and Gleich GJ (2004) Hypereosinophilic syndrome: case presentation and update. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 113: 50–58.
    Rothenberg ME (2004) Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGID). The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 113: 11–28.
    Roufosse F, Cogan E and Goldman M (2004) Recent advances in pathogenesis and management of hypereosinophilic syndromes. Allergy 59: 673–689.
    book Spry CJF (1988) Eosinophils. A Comprehensive Review and Guide to the Scientific and Medical Literature. Oxford, New York, Tokyo: Oxford University Press.
    Straumann A and Simon HU (2004) The physiological and pathophysiological roles of eosinophils in the gastrointestinal tract. Allergy 59: 15–25.
    Venge P, Bystrom J, Carlson M et al. (1999) Eosinophil cationic protein (ECP): molecular and biological properties and the use of ECP as a marker of eosinophil activation in disease. Clinical and Experimental Allergy 29: 1172–1186.

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Article Title: Eosinophilia and the Hypereosinophil Syndromes
 
How to Cite close
Venge, Per(Jan 2006) Eosinophilia and the Hypereosinophil Syndromes. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0002155]