ISSN:
1420-908X
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract The degranulatory activity of estradiol was tested on blood eosinophil leukocytesin vivo andin vitro. Treatment of adult ovariectomized rats with 30 μg estradiol/100 g body wt. increased the percentage of degranulated eosinophils from 10% to about 70% at 6 or 24 h after treatment, and increased the rate ofin vitro eosinophil degranulation of those eosinophils that were non-degranulated at the time of blood sample collection. The addition of estradiol to blood samples from untreated ovariectomized rats (0.05 μg/ml) increased the percentage of eosinophils degranulatedin vitro at 1 h of incubation from 20% to near 60%. It is suggested that estrogen acts directly on the eosinophils, probably via specific hormone receptors. Considering the hypothesis that eosinophils are involved in the mediation of a group of responses to estrogen in the uterus, it is proposed that the hormone-induced degranulation of these cells may have physiological implications in the regulation of the intensity and duration of the eosinophil-mediated responses. In addition, estrogen-induced eosinophil degranulation may interfere with the action of eosinophils that have migrated to other target organs (lymphoid organs, etc.) under the action of other agents (glucocorticoid hormones, histamine, etc.) or conditions (immune reactions, etc.).
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01966683
Permalink
