By pursuing their investigations, the researchers observed that, in mice that are deficient in lung-resident eosinophils, the “allergic” immune response was greatly exacerbated after inhalation of small doses of allergens, suggesting that these specific eosinophils play a role in the prevention of asthma sensitization and therefore in the regulation of pulmonary immune homeostasis. Specifically, resident eosinophils act upstream of the inflammatory cascade by inhibiting the activation of dendritic cells. In the case of asthma as in the case of other inflammatory diseases characterised by an abnormal response of the immune system, the dendritic cells – veritable sentinels of the immune – surveillance system – are activated and trigger a chain of events which ultimately results in exaggerated inflammation and clinical manifestations of the disease, which is partly due to the activation of inflammatory eosinophils. 

“For the first time, this study identifies a distinct sub-type of non-inflammatory pulmonary eosinophils in mice and humans which seem to be able to prevent the development of abnormal immune responses. Because these disorders of the immune system are involved in many disease conditions such as asthma, food allergies, Crohn’s intestinal disease or autoimmune diseases, this fundamental discovery is of outstanding interest to identify a way to prevent the development of these diseases”, explains Dr. Thomas Marichal.

“Recent anti-asthmatic treatments by injection of interleukin-5 monoclonal antibodies have proven to be clinically effective, but it was not understood why they did not totally eradicate the eosinophils, whose survival and function depend on interleukine-5. In light of our study, we now understand that, in fact, they spared the “good” regulating lung-resident eosinophils that are not so dependent on Interleukin-5 and that is a very good thing !”,  explains Professor Fabrice Bureau. 

“In the future, the question is to know how to facilitate the production of resident eosinophils, rather than inflammatory eosinophils, in the bone marrow. Indeed, by acting at the top of the cascade, we will have new weapons for the prevention of inflammatory diseases such as allergies or autoimmune diseases”, concludes Professor Fabrice Bureau.