Eosinophils in Asthma

Eosinophils were placed in a subordinate role in asthma pathogenesis after the suggestion that they nullified certain consequences of mast cell activation. These factors, reviewed in this book, brought them back into prominence. They include their ability to generate substantial amounts of peptidoleukotrienes and platelet-activating factor, the toxic nature of the constituents of eosinophil granules, and the finding that lymphokines control the proliferation, maturation, and activation of these cells.