title: Enhanced activation of eosinophils in peripheral blood and implications for eosinophilic esophagitis diagnosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Eosinophils are markers of the eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) disease, and this work aimed to assess whether activation of eosinophils could be a noninvasive test to contribute for EoE diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The activation state of peripheral blood eosinophils in EoE patients and control subjects was assessed based on the morphological aspects of the eosinophil after adherence to slide. Cyclooxygenase-2 and 5-lipoxygenase expressions were evaluated by means of immunofluorescence microscopy to verify if and which eicosanoid pathway is triggered in eosinophils in blood in EoE.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The eosinophils of patients with EoE were significantly more activated than those of control individuals. The lowest percentage of normal eosinophils for control subjects was 40%, while the highest percentage of eosinophils of normal aspect for patients with EoE was 32%. Considering 36% as a cutoff for normal eosinophils, this value differentiated all individuals with EoE from individuals without the disease with a sensitivity of 100%, considering the diagnosis of EoE as currently defined. Eosinophils of EoE patients showed higher expression of cyclooxygenase-2 than those of control subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The quantification of morphological changes in eosinophils is a feasible, easy, and reliable manner to identify EoE patients. Therefore, patients with symptoms of esophageal dysfunction showing higher than 36% activated eosinophils in peripheral blood could be a useful way to help definition and diagnostic criterion for EoE.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cellular Immunology, Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.|Alergya Clinic, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Valéria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Botan
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cellular Immunology, Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tatiana Karla
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Dos Santos Borges
authors.affiliation: Group of Cellular and Molecular Immunology, René Rachou Research Center, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Érica Alessandra
authors.initials: ÉA
authors.lastname: Rocha Alves
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cellular Immunology, Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Shirley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Claudino Pereira Couto
authors.affiliation: Brasiliensis Laboratory, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.|Catholic University of Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Heinrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bender Kohnert Seidler
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cellular Immunology, Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Imaculada
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Muniz-Junqueira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001094:Arachidonate 5-Lipoxygenase / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000097:blood; D057765:Eosinophilic Esophagitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001094:Arachidonate 5-Lipoxygenase; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2
keywords: cyclooxygenase-2; eicosanoids; eosinophilic esophagitis; eosinophils