ABSTRACT
Three major cytokine-induced endothelial adherence molecules have been characterized and identified which are felt to be important in leukocyte adhesion. They include endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule-1, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. Cytokine priming of eosinophils probably occurs in allergic reactions in the airways. Eosinophil-priming cytokines can be detected in vivo during allergic reactions, providing circumstantial evidence to suggest that eosinophils may be primed and their survival within tissues prolonged by cytokines released locally as a result of antigen stimulation in vivo. Several lines of evidence suggest that adhesion molecules and cytokines may play an important role in the selective migration of eosinophils to allergic reaction sites. At the level of the endothelium, either selective or prominent expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 along with the other endothelial adhesion molecules may assist in promoting eosinophil binding to endothelium and subsequent infiltration at sites of exposure to allergen.
