Eosinophils and Lung Cancer: From Bench to Bedside

Overview

Journal Int J Mol Sci

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Biochemistry
Chemistry
Molecular Biology

Date 2022 May 14

PMID 35563461

Authors

Anne Sibille

Jean-Louis Corhay

Renaud Louis

Vincent Ninane

Guy Jerusalem

Bernard Duysinx

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Eosinophils are rare, multifunctional granulocytes. Their growth, survival, and tissue migration mainly depend on interleukin (IL)-5 in physiological conditions and on IL-5 and IL-33 in inflammatory conditions. Preclinical evidence supports an immunological role for eosinophils as innate immune cells and as agents of the adaptive immune response. In addition to these data, several reports show a link between the outcomes of patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) for advanced cancers and blood eosinophilia. In this review, we present, in the context of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the biological properties of eosinophils and their roles in homeostatic and pathological conditions, with a focus on their pro- and anti-tumorigenic effects. We examine the possible explanations for blood eosinophilia during NSCLC treatment with ICI. In particular, we discuss the value of eosinophils as a potential prognostic and predictive biomarker, highlighting the need for stronger clinical data. Finally, we conclude with perspectives on clinical and translational research topics on this subject.

Citing Articles

Prognostic value of blood eosinophils for predicting survival and treatment outcomes in people with non-small cell lung cancer.

Sultana H, De Vos T, Malouf R, Calais F, Marchal C, Eberst G Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2025; 2:CD015783.

PMID: 39918122 PMC: 11803715. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD015783.

Impact of Triple Inhaler Therapy on COPD Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer After Radical Surgery: A Single-Centre Retrospective Analysis.

Bertuccio F, DAgnano V, Cordoni S, Tafa M, Novy C, Baio N J Clin Med. 2025; 14(1.

PMID: 39797331 PMC: 11722558. DOI: 10.3390/jcm14010249.

SPINK5 is a key regulator of eosinophil extracellular traps in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Zhao C, Zhu H, Tian Y, Sun Y, Zhang Z Discov Oncol. 2024; 15(1):627.

PMID: 39508915 PMC: 11543977. DOI: 10.1007/s12672-024-01513-z.

Development of Ex Vivo Analysis for Examining Cell Composition, Immunological Landscape, Tumor and Immune Related Markers in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Ufimtseva E, Gileva M, Kostenko R, Kozlov V, Gulyaeva L Cancers (Basel). 2024; 16(16).

PMID: 39199657 PMC: 11352364. DOI: 10.3390/cancers16162886.

CAR-NKT Cells in Asthma: Use of NKT as a Promising Cell for CAR Therapy.

Mohammad Taheri M, Javan F, Poudineh M, Athari S Clin Rev Allergy Immunol. 2024; 66(3):328-362.

PMID: 38995478 DOI: 10.1007/s12016-024-08998-0.

References

Lotfi R, Lotze M . Eosinophils induce DC maturation, regulating immunity. J Leukoc Biol. 2007; 83(3):456-60. DOI: 10.1189/jlb.0607366. View

Mori Y, Iwasaki H, Kohno K, Yoshimoto G, Kikushige Y, Okeda A . Identification of the human eosinophil lineage-committed progenitor: revision of phenotypic definition of the human common myeloid progenitor. J Exp Med. 2008; 206(1):183-93. PMC: 2626675. DOI: 10.1084/jem.20081756. View

Mishra A, Hogan S, Lee J, Foster P, Rothenberg M . Fundamental signals that regulate eosinophil homing to the gastrointestinal tract. J Clin Invest. 1999; 103(12):1719-27. PMC: 408388. DOI: 10.1172/JCI6560. View

Varricchi G, Galdiero M, Loffredo S, Lucarini V, Marone G, Mattei F . Eosinophils: The unsung heroes in cancer?. Oncoimmunology. 2018; 7(2):e1393134. PMC: 5749653. DOI: 10.1080/2162402X.2017.1393134. View

Reichman H, Itan M, Rozenberg P, Yarmolovski T, Brazowski E, Varol C . Activated Eosinophils Exert Antitumorigenic Activities in Colorectal Cancer. Cancer Immunol Res. 2019; 7(3):388-400. DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-18-0494. View

Cormier S, Taranova A, Bedient C, Nguyen T, Protheroe C, Pero R . Pivotal Advance: eosinophil infiltration of solid tumors is an early and persistent inflammatory host response. J Leukoc Biol. 2006; 79(6):1131-9. PMC: 3496422. DOI: 10.1189/jlb.0106027. View

Huang M, Wang J, Lee P, Sharma S, Mao J, Meissner H . Human non-small cell lung cancer cells express a type 2 cytokine pattern. Cancer Res. 1995; 55(17):3847-53. View

Delyon J, Mateus C, Lefeuvre D, Lanoy E, Zitvogel L, Chaput N . Experience in daily practice with ipilimumab for the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma: an early increase in lymphocyte and eosinophil counts is associated with improved survival. Ann Oncol. 2013; 24(6):1697-703. DOI: 10.1093/annonc/mdt027. View

Timmons B, Fairhurst A, Mahendroo M . Temporal changes in myeloid cells in the cervix during pregnancy and parturition. J Immunol. 2009; 182(5):2700-7. PMC: 2752643. DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.0803138. View

10.

Lotfi R, Herzog G, DeMarco R, Beer-Stolz D, Lee J, Rubartelli A . Eosinophils oxidize damage-associated molecular pattern molecules derived from stressed cells. J Immunol. 2009; 183(8):5023-31. DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.0900504. View

11.

Croxford A, Buch T . Cytokine reporter mice in immunological research: perspectives and lessons learned. Immunology. 2010; 132(1):1-8. PMC: 3015069. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2567.2010.03372.x. View

12.

Mesnil C, Raulier S, Paulissen G, Xiao X, Birrell M, Pirottin D . Lung-resident eosinophils represent a distinct regulatory eosinophil subset. J Clin Invest. 2016; 126(9):3279-95. PMC: 5004964. DOI: 10.1172/JCI85664. View

13.

Goh Y, Henderson N, Heredia J, Red Eagle A, Odegaard J, Lehwald N . Eosinophils secrete IL-4 to facilitate liver regeneration. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013; 110(24):9914-9. PMC: 3683773. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1304046110. View

14.

Hanahan D, Weinberg R . Hallmarks of cancer: the next generation. Cell. 2011; 144(5):646-74. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2011.02.013. View

15.

Chu V, Beller A, Rausch S, Strandmark J, Zanker M, Arbach O . Eosinophils promote generation and maintenance of immunoglobulin-A-expressing plasma cells and contribute to gut immune homeostasis. Immunity. 2014; 40(4):582-93. DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2014.02.014. View

16.

Zaynagetdinov R, Sherrill T, Gleaves L, McLoed A, Saxon J, Habermann A . Interleukin-5 facilitates lung metastasis by modulating the immune microenvironment. Cancer Res. 2015; 75(8):1624-1634. PMC: 4401663. DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-14-2379. View

17.

Weide B, Martens A, Hassel J, Berking C, Postow M, Bisschop K . Baseline Biomarkers for Outcome of Melanoma Patients Treated with Pembrolizumab. Clin Cancer Res. 2016; 22(22):5487-5496. PMC: 5572569. DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-16-0127. View

18.

Simson L, Ellyard J, Dent L, Matthaei K, Rothenberg M, Foster P . Regulation of carcinogenesis by IL-5 and CCL11: a potential role for eosinophils in tumor immune surveillance. J Immunol. 2007; 178(7):4222-9. DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.178.7.4222. View

19.

Rosenberg S, Lotze M, Muul L, Leitman S, Chang A, Ettinghausen S . Observations on the systemic administration of autologous lymphokine-activated killer cells and recombinant interleukin-2 to patients with metastatic cancer. N Engl J Med. 1985; 313(23):1485-92. DOI: 10.1056/NEJM198512053132327. View

20.

Tepper R, Coffman R, Leder P . An eosinophil-dependent mechanism for the antitumor effect of interleukin-4. Science. 1992; 257(5069):548-51. DOI: 10.1126/science.1636093. View