αβ and αβ Integrin Expression and Pro-Proliferative Properties of Eosinophil Subtypes in Asthma.

Eosinophilic inflammation is one of the main pathophysiological features in asthma. Two subtypes of eosinophils exist in the lung and systemic circulation: lung-resident eosinophils (rEOS) and inflammatory eosinophils (iEOS). We evaluated the expression of αβ and αβ integrins of eosinophil subtypes and their influence on airway smooth muscle (ASM) cell proliferation and viability in asthma.

Blood Eosinophils Subtypes and Their Survivability in Asthma Patients.

Eosinophils subtypes as lung-resident (rEOS) and inflammatory (iEOS) eosinophils are different in surface protein expression, functions, response to IL-5 and localization in lungs. rEOS- and iEOS-like eosinophils are found in blood; thus, we aimed to investigate their quantity and survivability in asthma patients. A total of 40 individuals were included: 10 steroid-free non-severe allergic asthma (AA), and 18 severe non-allergic eosinophilic asthma (SNEA) patients, the control group consisted of 12 healthy non-smoking subjects (HS).