BIOCHEMICAL AND FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EOSINOPHILS FROM ANIMAL SPECIES AND MAN

Eosinophils were isolated from peritoneal lavages of repeated horse serum-injected guinea pigs or rhesus monkeys and from peripheral blood of normal human donors. Eicosanoid metabolism and chemotaxis by these cells were studied by in vitro techniques. Upon calcium ionophore stimulation guinea pig eosinophils released thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) while monkey and human cells produced LTC4, LTB4, and 5-HETE. Guinea pig cells do not synthesize sulfidopeptide LTs, because they lack the specific LTA4 glutathione S-transferase. Guinea pig eosinophils exhibit maximal chemotactic responses to LTB4, zymosan activated plasma, and human recombinant C5a, while producing only a negligible response to platelet activating factor (PAF). Monkey and human cells responded maximally to PAF, but exhibit only a weak response to LTB4. These results suggest that the guinea pig eosinophils differ from monkey and human eosinophils in both the synthetic capacity and functional chemotaxis responses to lipid mediators.