Abstract
INFESTATIONS with metazoan parasites are the most efficient stimulus known for the induction of eosinophilia, and eosinophils have been shown to have an essential role in the elimination of worms1,2. Eosinophil chemotactic factors have been derived from lymphocytes3–5, mast cells6 and the complement system7. We reported recently the in vitro release of a low molecular weight eosinophil chemotactic factor, ECF, from human neutrophils (PMN) during phagocytosis of zymosan8. The evidence presented here shows that neutrophils, after incubation with larvae of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (N.B.), can also generate this same factor which selectively attracts eosinophils in vitro. As neutrophils are the first cells to accumulate at tissue sites where parasites are located9–11, the attraction of eosinophils may present an early line of defence against the invading organism.
Published Version
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