Hypodense eosinophils: characterization of surface molecule expression

Distinct eosinophil populations have been characterized on the basis of discontinuous Percoll density gradients. In peripheral blood, normal individuals show a low number of normodense and hypodense eosinophils, contrasting with the high amount of hypodense cells in patients who have allergies. To characterize these two eosinophil populations, we analyzed membrane expression of several antigens and cytokine receptors in normodense and hypodense eosinophils from patients who have allergies and controls. Hypodense eosinophils expressed higher levels of CD122, CD69, and CD4 in both patients with allergies and control individuals when compared to normodense eosinophils. The expression of CD125, CD124, CD25, CD132, and CD23 were similar in both cell types.