EOTAXIN IS A POTENT CHEMOTAXIN FOR HUMAN BASOPHILS

We studied the effect of eotaxin, a novel eosinophil-active CC chemoki ne with high target cell specificity, on human basophils. Eotaxin indu ced higher levels of chemotactic response with a lower ED(50) compared with RANTES in basophils; half-maximal migration occurred at a concen tration of similar to 3 nM. On the other hand, it exerted only a margi nal effect on either histamine release or leukotriene C-4 generation. In addition, nested PCR Amplification experiments revealed the express ion of CC CKR3, a putative receptor for eotaxin, on basophils. Since a ccumulation of both basophils and eosinophils is an important aspect o f allergic inflammation, eotaxin potentially plays a pathogenic role i n allergic disorders by inducing migration of both of these cell types . (C) 1997 Academic Press.