ABSTRACT
The pathobiology of disease processes associated with peripheral blood and tissue eosinophilia begins with those factors that regulate eosinophilopoiesis in the bone marrow and proceeds to the coordinated maintenance of cellular viability at extra-medullary sites. Disorders that affect either or both of these processes result in abnormal quantities of eosinophils, which can present a functional phenotype primed for increased expression of ligand-mediated eosinophil pro-inflammatory functions. This chapter examines freshly isolated normodense eosinophils cultured in enriched medium alone for the development of internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. The cell DNA was extracted in sodium lauryl sarkosinate and proteinase K from freshly isolated normodense eosinophils and replicate eosinophils cultured for 10, 20 and 38 hours. The phenotypic conversion of eosinophils has been characterized based on their relative density gradient centrifugation, surface expression of selected granule proteins and primed proinflammatory functions. Eosinophil heterogeneity has been characterized in studies of cell functions, such as antibody-dependent cytotoxicity, ligand-stimulated superoxide generation and leukotriene synthesis.
