Eosinophil activation leads to secretion of presynthesized, granule-stored mediators that determine the course of allergic, inflammatory, and immunoregulatory responses. CD63, a member of the transmembrane-4 glycoprotein superfamily (tetraspanins) and present on the limiting membranes of eosinophil-specific (secretory) granules, is considered a potential surface marker for eosinophil degranulation. However, the intracellular secretory trafficking of CD63 in eosinophils and other leukocytes is not understood. Here, we provide a comprehensive investigation of CD63 trafficking at high resolution within human eosinophils stimulated with inflammatory stimuli, CCL11 and tumor necrosis factor α, which induce distinctly differing secretory processes in eosinophils: piecemeal degranulation and compound exocytosis, respectively. By using different transmission electron microscopy approaches, including an immunonanogold technique, for enhanced detection of CD63 at subcellular compartments, we identified a major intracellular pool of CD63 that is directly linked to eosinophil degranulation events. Transmission electron microscopy quantitative analyses demonstrated that, in response to stimulation, CD63 is concentrated within granules undergoing secretion by piecemeal degranulation or compound exocytosis and that CD63 tracks with the movements of vesicles and granules in the cytoplasm. Although CD63 was observed at the cell surface after stimulation, immunonanogold electron microscopy revealed that a strong CD63 pool remains in the cytoplasm. It is remarkable that CCL11 and tumor necrosis factor α triggered increased formation of CD63(+) large vesiculotubular carriers (eosinophil sombrero vesicles), which fused with granules in the process of secretion, likely acting in the intracellular translocation of CD63. Altogether, we identified active, intracellular CD63 trafficking connected to eosinophil granule-derived secretory pathways. This is important for understanding the complex secretory activities of eosinophils underlying immune responses.

Over the past two decades, our understanding of eosinophils has evolved from that of categorically destructive effector cells to include active participation in immune modulation, tissue repair processes, and normal organ development, both in health and disease. At the core of their newly appreciated functions is the capacity of eosinophils to synthesize, store within intracellular granules, and very rapidly secrete a highly diverse repertoire of cytokines. Mechanisms governing the selective secretion of preformed cytokines from eosinophils are attractive therapeutic targets, and may well be more broadly applicable to other immune cells. Here we discuss recent advances in deciphering pathways of cytokine secretion, both from intact eosinophils, and from tissue-deposited cell-free eosinophil granules, extruded from eosinophils undergoing a lytic cell death.