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Morphology and density features of eosinophil leukocytes in eosinophilic pneumonia

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Summary

We compared the morphological characteristics and density properties of eosinophil leukocytes obtained from the blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of a 29-year-old patient with chronic eosinophil pneumonia during exacerbation. The lavage eosinophils were significantly increased in size when compared with blood cells (surface area: 208 ± 12 μm2 versus 161 ± 13 μm2). Moreover, eosinophils contained slightly more granules (23.4 versus 20.7 per cell surface area), but no difference was found when the number was corrected for cell size. Electron microscopy revealed a loss of granule contents in eosinophils from both blood and bronchoalveolar lavage. Finally, 61% of the lavage eosinophils were hypodense (with a density < 1.085 g/ml), whereas 96.3% of the blood cells were normodense. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that in chronic eosinophil pneumonia, eosinophils obtained from bronchoalveolar lavage and blood show differences in both their morphology and density, suggesting that eosinophils during migration into the lung may become activated.

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Abbreviations

BAL:

bronchoalveolar lavage

FCS:

fetal calf serum

HBSS:

Hanks balanced salt solution

MBP:

major basic protein

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medizinische Klinik, Abteilung Pneumologie, Universitätskliniken Freiburg, Germany

    C. Kroegel & H. Matthys

  2. Abteilung Pneumologie/Allergologie, Ruhrlandklinik, Essen

    U. Costabel

  3. Abteilung Pneumologie/Allergologie, Ruhrlandklinik, Tueschener Weg 40, W-4300, Essen, FRG

    U. Costabel

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  1. C. Kroegel
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  2. H. Matthys
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  3. U. Costabel
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Supported by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Kr 956/1-1), Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie/DLR (01KC8906/1), and Arbeitsgemeinschaft zur Förderung der Pneumologie an der Ruhrlandklinik

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Kroegel, C., Matthys, H. & Costabel, U. Morphology and density features of eosinophil leukocytes in eosinophilic pneumonia. Clin Investig 70, 447–453 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00235531

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00235531

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