Regulation of eosinophil apoptosis: Transduction of survival and death signals

Since eosinophils are prominent in allergic inflammation, investigators bec ame interested in how these cells accumulate in tissues and their role with in the inflammatory cascade. There is increasing evidence from several labo ratories that eosinophil numbers are regulated in vivo, not only by eosinop hil production in the bone marrow, but also by the amount of eosinophil apo ptosis, Moreover, it has been directly demonstrated that eosinophil apoptos is is delayed in allergic inflammatory sites, and that this mechanism contr ibutes to the expansion of these cells in tissue. In this article, we revie w recent studies that shed light on the intracellular pathways that control eosinophil apoptosis.