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Microscopy and Microanalysis Microscopy and Microanalysis

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Contributions of Electron Microscopy to Understand Secretion of Immune Mediators by Human Eosinophils

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2010

Rossana C.N. Melo ,
Ann M. Dvorak  and
Peter F. Weller
Rossana C.N. Melo*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Cellular Biology, Department of Biology, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, UFJF, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Ann M. Dvorak
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Peter F. Weller
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: rossana.melo@ufjf.edu.br
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Abstract

Mechanisms governing secretion of proteins underlie the biologic activities and functions of human eosinophils, leukocytes of the innate immune system, involved in allergic, inflammatory, and immunoregulatory responses. In response to varied stimuli, eosinophils are recruited from the circulation into inflammatory foci, where they modulate immune responses through the release of granule-derived products. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is the only technique that can clearly identify and distinguish between different modes of cell secretion. In this review, we highlight the advances in understanding mechanisms of eosinophil secretion, based on TEM findings, that have been made over the past years and that have provided unprecedented insights into the functional capabilities of these cells.

Keywords

transmission electron microscopyelectron tomographyeosinophilscell secretionvesicular transportinflammationimmune systemcytokines
Type
Review Article
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 16 , Issue 6 , December 2010 , pp. 653 - 660
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2010

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