Heterogeneous eosinophils of allergic rhinitis in chemotactic response

Chemotactic responses of eosinophils from patients with allergic rhinitis to 5 STO-2-derived eosinophil chemotactic factors (ECF), IL-3, IL-5 and GM-CSF were examined. The patients were divided into two groups: patients with perennial allergic rhinitis sensitive to Dermatophagoides farinae and those with seasonal allergic rhinitis sensitive to Japanese cedar pollen. There was no essential difference between chemotactic response of eosinophils from the former to STO-2-derived ECF and that from healthy individuals. However, eosinophils from patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis failed to respond to one of the STO-2-derived ECFs, ECF-P19. Before and after nasal antigen provocation, no change occurred in the chemotactic profiles. Furthermore, we found that eosinophils from both types of patients with allergic rhinitis responded not only to IL-3 and GM-CSF but also to IL-5 unlike those of healthy individuals.