Study Shows a New Way to Treat Allergic Diseases Caused By High Eosinophil in the Blood

The Israel Exchange Program in Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, along with other major institutes like the United States – Israel Binational Science Foundation, National Institute of Allergy and infectious Diseases, it has funded a research that has discovered a new pathway to treat allergic diseases caused by high eosinophil in the blood stream. Eosinophil is a normal cellular component in the body but its excess in the blood stream causes eosoniphilic disorders that damage tissues especially of the gastrointestinal system. The release of eosinophil from the bone marrow into the bloodstream is regulated by a protein IL5. The new pathway has been found to have a key checkpoint controlled by proteins PIR –A and PIR – B. PIR A induces eosinophils to die and PIR B inhibits the actions of PIR A. A study on asthmatic mice showed that the lack of PIR B kept the eosinophils from reaching harmful levels in the blood. This should help scientists to develop treatments for allergic diseases by either inhibiting PIR B or enhancing PIR A.