Blood lymphocytes from patients with eosinophilia are known to produce interleukin-5 (IL-5) with appropriate stimulation in vitro. To determine whether blood lymphocytes from these patients produce IL-5 in vivo, we tested the IL-5 mRNA expression in blood lymphocytes immediately after separation by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. We found that lymphocytes from eosinophilic patients expressed IL-5 mRNA, but lymphocytes from normal volunteers did not express the lymphokine. These findings suggest that in patients with eosinophilia, peripheral blood lymphocytes produce IL-5 in vivo.

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The concentrations of interleukin-5 (IL-5), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor GM-CSF, and interleukin-3 (IL-3) in serum and in IL-2-stimulated lymphocyte culture medium (L-IL2-CM) prepared from patients with reactive eosinophilia were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Serum IL-5 levels were increased in 16 out of 42 cases. GM-CSF and IL-3 were below the detectable levels in all sera examined. The concentrations of IL-5 and GM-CSF in L-IL2-CM were increased in 10 out of 29 patients. IL-3 was below the detectable levels in all L-IL2-CM.

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