THE ROLE OF EOSINOPHILS IN ANGIOSTRONGYLUS-CANTONENSIS INFECTION

Angiostrongylus cantonensis is the causative agent of human eosinophil ic meningoencephalitis in the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. Prom inent eosinophilia in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of the patients ha s been used as one of the diagnostic criteria for the disease but the role(s) of the CSF eosinophils has remained to be elucidated. In this article, Kentaro Yoshimura, Hiroko Sugaya and Kazuto Ishida discuss th e involvement of CSF eosinophils in the killing of intracranial worms and the damage of the central nervous system of the hosts, and conside r why eosinophils in A. cantonensis infection play a more important ro le in nonpermissive hosts (including humans) than in the permissive ra t host.