Eosinophil-derived neurotoxin / RNase 2: connecting the past, the present and the future

The eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN, also known as eosinophil protein-X) is best-known as one of the four major proteins found in the large specific granules of human eosinophilic leukocytes. Although it was named for its discovery and initial characterization as a neurotoxin, it is also expressed constitutively in human liver tissue and its expression can be induced in macrophages by proinflammatory stimuli. EDN and its divergent orthologs in rodents have ribonuclease activity, and are members of the extensive RNase A superfamily, although the relationship between the characterized physiologic functions and enzymatic activity remains poorly understood. Recent explorations into potential physiologic functions for EDN have provided us with some insights into its role in antiviral host defense, as a chemoattractant for human dendritic cells, and most recently, as an endogenous ligand for toll-like receptor (TLR)2.