The role of eosinophils in asthma

Asthma is a common respiratory disease. The prevalence of asthma has been increasing over the past twenty years in most countries, and it affects up to 10% of the population of developed countries. Airway inflammation is a major factor in the pathogenesis of asthma. The presence of peripheral blood eosinophilia and activated eosinophils in the chronic inflammatory infiltrate of the airways is a characteristic of both allergic and non-allergic asthma. This review article describes the mechanisms of eosinophillic inflammation in asthma: eosinophilopoiesis, role of eosinophil growth factors (IL-3, IL-5 and GM-CSF), phases in the recruitment of eosinophils from bone marrow to airway mucosa, activation and eosinophil effector functions in the pathogenesis of asthma. .