THE INHIBITORY EFFECT OF OXATOMIDE, AN ANTI-ALLERGIC AGENT, ON EOSINOPHIL-MEDIATED AND EOSINOPHILIC CELL LINE-MEDIATED NATURAL CYTOTOXICITY AGAINST BRONCHIAL EPITHELIAL CELLS

Abstract

Recently, eosinophils have been implicated as inflammatory effector cells in allergic and inflammatory reactions such as bronchial asthma. In this study eosinophil-mediated and eosinophilic cell line-mediated natural cytotoxicity against bronchial epithelial cells and the effects of oxatomide, an anti-allergic agent, on their cytotoxicity were investigated. Treatment with oxatomide diminished both eosinophil-mediated and eosinophilic cell line-mediated natural cytotoxicity in vitro. We concluded from these results that oxatomide not only has anti-allergic activity but also anti-inflammatory properites for eosinophils. In addition this method for isolating eosinophills seems to well serve the purpose of evaluating eosinophil function as in this investigation, as we have reported previously.