Eosinophils involved in fulminant hepatic failure are associated with high interleukin-6 expression and absence of interleukin-5 in liver and peripheral blood.
OBJECTIVE
Although eosinophils are considered to play an important role in the pathogenesis of various parasitic, allergic and autoimmune digestive diseases, their role in fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) is unknown. Our contribution was to identify and quantify eosinophils and cytokine levels [interleukin (IL)-6, IL-5 and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha] in liver parenchyma and peripheral blood from FHF patients at pre- and post-transplantation steps.


METHODS
Histochemical methods were used to identify/quantify eosinophils in liver samples. Liver and plasma cytokine levels were quantified using immunofluorescence methods.


RESULTS
Fulminant hepatic failure patients showed a high number of intrahepatic eosinophils concomitant with an increased expression of IL-6, besides the IL-6-positive eosinophils associated with the lack of IL-5. Also, an increased number of eosinophils and soluble IL-6 and MIP-1alpha with a low expression of IL-5 in peripheral blood at the pretransplantation step was observed.


CONCLUSIONS
The increased number of intrahepatic eosinophils, besides the high production of IL-6, may be involved in liver dysfunction. In addition, the low presence of IL-5 in liver and peripheral blood may represent a particular pattern of eosinophil behaviour in human liver failure, which may also involve MIP-1alpha. Further ex vivo studies are necessary to evaluate the specific role of eosinophils in FHF.
dos Santos
Damião Carlos Moraes
DC
Laboratório de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Virologia - Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. dcsantos@ioc.fiocruz.br
da Silva Gomes Martinho
José Manoel
JM
Pacheco-Moreira
Lúcio Filgueiras
LF
Carvalho Viana de Araújo
Cristina
C
Caroli-Bottino
Adriana
A
Pannain
Vera Lúcia
VL
Soares Trinta
Karen
K
Gandini
Mariana
M
da Costa Neves
Patrícia Cristina
PC
de Souza Matos
Denise Cristina
DC
Gonçalves Caputo
Luzia Fátima
LF
Pelajo-Machado
Marcelo
M
Alves Pinto
Marcelo
M