title: Circulating Human Eosinophils Share a Similar Transcriptional Profile in Asthma and Other Hypereosinophilic Disorders.
abstract: Eosinophils are leukocytes that are released into the peripheral blood in a phenotypically mature state and are capable of being recruited into tissues in response to appropriate stimuli. Eosinophils, traditionally considered cytotoxic effector cells, are leukocytes recruited into the airways of asthma patients where they are believed to contribute to the development of many features of the disease. This perception, however, has been challenged by recent findings suggesting that eosinophils have also immunomodulatory functions and may be involved in tissue homeostasis and wound healing. Here we describe a transcriptome-based approach-in a limited number of patients and controls-to investigate the activation state of circulating human eosinophils isolated by flow cytometry. We provide an overview of the global expression pattern in eosinophils in various relevant conditions, e.g., eosinophilic asthma, hypereosinophilic dermatological diseases, parasitosis and pulmonary aspergillosis. Compared to healthy subjects, circulating eosinophils isolated from asthma patients differed in their gene expression profile which is marked by downregulation of transcripts involved in antigen presentation, pathogen recognition and mucosal innate immunity, whereas up-regulated genes were involved in response to non-specific stimulation, wounding and maintenance of homeostasis. Eosinophils from other hypereosinophilic disorders displayed a very similar transcriptional profile. Taken together, these observations seem to indicate that eosinophils exhibit non-specific immunomodulatory functions important for tissue repair and homeostasis and suggest new roles for these cells in asthma immunobiology.
authors.affiliation: INSERM UMR S_1109, ImmunoRhumatologie Moléculaire, Labex Transplantex, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, 67085, Strasbourg Cedex, France; Service de Pneumologie, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Nouvel Hôpital Civil, 67091, Strasbourg Cedex, France; Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire, OMICARE, Centre de Recherche d'Immunologie et d'Hématologie, 67085, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barnig
authors.affiliation: INSERM UMR S_1109, ImmunoRhumatologie Moléculaire, Labex Transplantex, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, 67085, Strasbourg Cedex, France; Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire, OMICARE, Centre de Recherche d'Immunologie et d'Hématologie, 67085, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Ghada
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alsaleh
authors.affiliation: INSERM UMR S_1109, ImmunoRhumatologie Moléculaire, Labex Transplantex, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, 67085, Strasbourg Cedex, France; IRMA, CNRS UMR 7501, Labex IRMIA, Université de Strasbourg, 67084, Strasbourg Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, INSERM U964, CNRS UMR 7104, Université de Strasbourg, 67404, Illkirch, France.
authors.forename: Doulaye
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dembélé
authors.affiliation: INSERM UMR S_1109, ImmunoRhumatologie Moléculaire, Labex Transplantex, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, 67085, Strasbourg Cedex, France; Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire, OMICARE, Centre de Recherche d'Immunologie et d'Hématologie, 67085, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Nicodème
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.affiliation: Service de Pneumologie, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Nouvel Hôpital Civil, 67091, Strasbourg Cedex, France; Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire, OMICARE, Centre de Recherche d'Immunologie et d'Hématologie, 67085, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Anh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poirot
authors.affiliation: Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire, OMICARE, Centre de Recherche d'Immunologie et d'Hématologie, 67085, Strasbourg, France; Laboratoire Central d'Immunologie, Pôle de Biologie, Nouvel Hôpital Civil, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, 67091, Strasbourg Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Béatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Uring-Lambert
authors.affiliation: INSERM UMR S_1109, ImmunoRhumatologie Moléculaire, Labex Transplantex, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, 67085, Strasbourg Cedex, France; Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire, OMICARE, Centre de Recherche d'Immunologie et d'Hématologie, 67085, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Georgel
authors.affiliation: Service de Pneumologie, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Nouvel Hôpital Civil, 67091, Strasbourg Cedex, France; Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire, OMICARE, Centre de Recherche d'Immunologie et d'Hématologie, 67085, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Fréderic
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Blay
authors.affiliation: INSERM UMR S_1109, ImmunoRhumatologie Moléculaire, Labex Transplantex, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, 67085, Strasbourg Cedex, France; Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire, OMICARE, Centre de Recherche d'Immunologie et d'Hématologie, 67085, Strasbourg, France; Laboratoire Central d'Immunologie, Pôle de Biologie, Nouvel Hôpital Civil, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, 67091, Strasbourg Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Seiamak
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bahram
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D017681:Hypereosinophilic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059467:Transcriptome