Eosinophils are the major cellular effectors of allergic inflammation and represent an important therapeutic target. Although the genesis and activation of eosinophils have been extensively explored, ...little is known about their intravascular kinetics or physiological fate. This study was designed to determine the intravascular life span of eosinophils, their partitioning between circulating and marginated pools, and sites of disposal in healthy persons. Using autologous, minimally manipulated 111-Indium–labeled leukocytes with blood sampling, we measured the eosinophil intravascular residence time as 25.2 hours (compared with 10.3 hours for neutrophils) and demonstrated a substantial marginated eosinophil pool. γ camera imaging studies using purified eosinophils demonstrated initial retention in the lungs, with early redistribution to the liver and spleen, and evidence of recirculation from a hepatic pool. This work provides the first in vivo measurements of eosinophil kinetics in healthy volunteers and shows that 111-Indium–labeled eosinophils can be used to monitor the fate of eosinophils noninvasively.
Eosinophils are mediators of allergic inflammation and are implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous conditions including asthma, parasitic infections, neoplasms, hyper-eosinophilic syndromes, ...vasculitic disorders, and organ-specific conditions. Assessing eosinophilic inflammation is therefore important in establishing a diagnosis, in monitoring and assessing response to treatment, and in testing novel therapeutics. Clinical markers of atopy and eosinophilic inflammation include indirect tests such as lung function, exhaled breath condensate analysis, fractional exhaled nitric oxide, serum immunoglobulin E levels and serum periostin. Direct measures, which quantify but do not anatomically localise inflammation include blood eosinophil counts, serum or plasma eosinophil cationic protein and sputum eosinophil levels. Cytology from bronchoalveolar lavage and histology from endobronchial and transbronchial biopsies are better at localising inflammation but are more invasive. Novel approaches using radiolabelled eosinophils with single-photon emission computed tomography, offer the prospect of non-invasive methods to localise eosinophilic inflammation.
Radiolabeled leukocyte scans are used in nuclear medicine to detect sites of infection and inflammation. We have previously demonstrated the use of clinical grade immunomagnetic beads to isolate ...autologous eosinophils and image their distribution in healthy volunteers. Here we describe the use of radiolabeled eosinophils coupled to single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to quantify eosinophil uptake in the lungs of healthy volunteers, patients with asthma, and patients with focal eosinophilic inflammation.
Effects of tocilizumab on neutrophil function and kinetics Lok, Laurence S. C.; Farahi, Neda; Juss, Jatinder K. ...
European journal of clinical investigation,
October 2017, 2017-Oct, 2017-10-00, 20171001, Letnik:
47, Številka:
10
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Background
Decreases in circulating neutrophils (polymorphonuclear leucocytes, PMNs) have been reported in patients treated with the anti‐interleukin‐6 receptor (IL‐6R) antibody tocilizumab (TCZ); ...the mechanism for this is unclear. We hypothesize that TCZ reduces circulating neutrophils by affecting margination and/or bone marrow trafficking without affecting neutrophil function or apoptosis.
Materials and methods
Eighteen healthy subjects were randomized to single intravenous dose of TCZ 8 mg/kg (n = 12) or placebo (n = 6) on day 0. On day 4, each subject had autologous indium‐111‐labelled neutrophils re‐injected, and their kinetics quantified with longitudinal profiling in a whole body gamma‐counter. TCZ‐treated subjects were divided into two groups according to the extent of reduction in neutrophil count.
Results
Mean day 4 neutrophil counts, as % baseline, were 101·9%, 68·3% and 44·2% in the placebo, TCZ‐PMN‐’high’ and TCZ‐PMN‐’low’ groups, respectively (P < 0·001). Following TCZ, neutrophil function, activation and apoptosis ex vivo were all unaffected. In vivo, there were no differences in early blood recovery or margination to liver/spleen and bone marrow; however, later neutrophil re‐distribution to bone marrow was markedly reduced in the TCZ‐PMN‐low group (peak pelvic count as % day 4 count on: day 5, 188% placebo vs. 127% TCZ‐PMN‐low, P < 0·001; day 10, 180% placebo vs. 132% TCZ‐PMN‐low, P < 0·01), with a trend towards higher liver/spleen neutrophil retention.
Conclusions
We have demonstrated for the first time in humans that IL‐6R blockade affects neutrophil trafficking to the bone marrow without influencing neutrophil functional capacity.
Neutrophils play an important role in the lung tumour microenvironment. We hypothesised that radiolabelled neutrophils coupled to single-photon emission CT (SPECT) may non-invasively quantify ...neutrophil uptake in tumours from patients with non-small cell lung cancer. We demonstrated increased uptake of radiolabelled neutrophils from the blood into tumours compared with non-specific uptake using radiolabelled transferrin. Moreover, indium-111-neutrophil activity in the tumour biopsies also correlated with myeloperoxidase (MPO)-positive neutrophils. Our data support the utility of imaging with In-111-labelled neutrophils and SPECT-CT to quantify neutrophil uptake in lung cancer.
Abstract
Introduction
Radionuclides for leucocyte kinetic studies have progressed from non-gamma emitting cell-labelling radionuclides through gamma emitting nuclides that allow imaging of leucocyte ...kinetics, to the next goal of positron emission tomography (PET).
Sources of data
Mostly the authors’ own studies, following on from studies of the early pioneers.
Areas of controversy
From early imaging studies, it appeared that the majority of the marginated granulocyte pool was located in the lungs. However, later work disputed this by demonstrating the exquisite sensitivity of granulocytes to ex vivo isolation and labelling, and that excessive lung activity is artefactual.
Areas of agreement
Following refinement of labelling techniques, it was shown that the majority of marginated granulocytes are located in the spleen and bone marrow. The majority of leucocytes have a pulmonary vascular transit time only a few seconds longer than erythrocytes. The minority showing slow transit, ~5% in healthy persons, is increased in systemic inflammatory disorders that cause neutrophil priming and loss of deformability. Using a range of imaging techniques, including gamma camera imaging, whole-body counting and single photon-emission computerized tomography, labelled granulocytes were subsequently used to image pulmonary trafficking in lobar pneumonia, bronchiectasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and adult respiratory distress syndrome.
Growing points
More recently, eosinophils have been separated in pure form using magnetic bead technology for the study of eosinophil trafficking in asthma.
Areas timely for developing research
These include advancement of eosinophil imaging, development of monocyte labelling, development of cell labelling with PET tracers and the tracking of lymphocytes.