MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN EOSINOPHILS IN ALLERGIC DISEASE

Eosinophilia of some degree is associated with many allergic conditions, but the function of the eosinophil in these conditions is not known. This report describes a morphological change, vacuoles in the eosinophil, previously unrecognized in human beings in vivo. Vacuolizaton of the eosinophil occurred more frequently in symptomatic asthmatic patients. It was also found in other allergic conditions such as allergic rhinitis and serum sickness. In a large control population of hospitalized patients, vacuolization of eosinophils was often found associated with those illnesses in which tissue damage played an important role, such as myocardial infarction. In a control group of student nurses, vacuolization of eosinophils was observed only in those patients who had active allergic disease. In a group of healthy nonallergic subjects such eosinophils were rarely seen. The meaning of vacuolization was not established. One hypothesis suggested by the findings is that vacuoles repesent phagocytized foreign protein. In allergic individuals, the protein could be either antigen-antibody complexes or antigen. © 1968.