Clinical and immunological features of patients with interleukin-5-producing T cell clones and eosinophilia

Recent work suggests that in some patients with the hypereosinophilic syndr ome, a clone of abnormal T cells produces large amounts of interleukin-5. I n this study, we examined 60 patients with idiopathic eosinophilia. Sixteen patients had circulating T cells with an aberrant immunophenotype that, in most cases, were associated with different forms of skin inflammation. The abnormal T cells produced large amounts of interleukin-5, which may have i ncreased eosinophil differentiation in the bone marrow of these patients. C opyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.