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The presence of hypodense eosinophilic granulocytes in allergic children
1Department of Pediatrics, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa-ken, Japan.
Insights
Hypodense eosinophils are significantly more prevalent in children with asthma and allergic conditions. Their presence in peripheral blood may indicate allergic disease development and contribute to allergic pathophysiology in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
- Hematology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Hypodense eosinophils are poorly understood in pediatric populations.
- Eosinophils play a role in allergic inflammation.
- Characterizing eosinophil subtypes can offer insights into allergic disease mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of hypodense eosinophils in children.
- To determine the association between hypodense eosinophils and allergic conditions in children.
- To explore the potential role of hypodense eosinophils in pediatric allergic diseases.
Main Methods:
- Peripheral blood samples were collected from asthmatic, allergic-non-asthmatic, and non-allergic children.
- Density gradient centrifugation (Percoll) was used to isolate hypodense eosinophils.
- Light and electron microscopy were employed to examine eosinophil morphology.
- Changes in hypodense eosinophil counts were monitored following therapeutic interventions.
Main Results:
- Asthmatic children exhibited significantly higher numbers of hypodense eosinophils compared to allergic-non-asthmatic and non-allergic children.
- Hypodense eosinophils in asthmatic children appeared swollen with dispersed granules, unlike normodense eosinophils.
- Therapeutic interventions, including aminophylline for severe asthma and anti-allergic drugs, led to a decrease in hypodense eosinophil counts.
- A reduction in hypodense eosinophils correlated with symptom relief in allergic children.
Conclusions:
- The presence of hypodense eosinophils in peripheral blood is linked to allergic symptoms in children.
- Hypodense eosinophils may play a role in the pathophysiology of pediatric allergic diseases.
- Monitoring hypodense eosinophils could serve as a potential biomarker in pediatric allergy.
Abstract:
To evaluate hypodense eosinophils known very little in children, peripheral blood from asthmatic, allergic-non-asthmatic and non-allergic children was evaluated by density Percoll gradient techniques. A significantly higher number of eosinophils were hypodense in asthmatic children (n = 24) compared with allergic non-asthmatic (n = 10) and non-allergic children (n = 13), namely 484 +/- 348 cells/40 microliters versus 113 +/- 109 and 39 +/- 61 (p less than 0.001) respectively. We also observed by light and electron microscopy that the hypodense eosinophils of asthmatic children were swollen and their granules were dispersed, but the normodense eosinophils of the same patient were small and compact. In three cases of severe asthmatic attack, hypodense eosinophils found on admission decreased in number after intravenous aminophylline therapy and relief of symptoms. Moreover, a decreased number of hypodense eosinophils were found in seven cases of allergic children (p less than 0.05) after 2 weeks of anti-allergic drug treatment associated with relieved symptoms. From these data we concluded that the presence of hypodense eosinophils in the peripheral blood might be related to the development of allergic symptoms and might participate in the pathophysiology of allergic diseases in children.