Medical Journal Reviews
The International Eosinophil Society (IES) selects articles on a monthly basis for their importance to scientists and clinicians interested in the eosinophil. We welcome Medical Journal Review submissions from IES Members for consideration. Your review should be clear, compelling, and appeal to our international membership.
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July 2026
Autotaxin-Mediated Suppression of Eosinophils Promotes Pancreatic Cancer Progression
Article: Autotaxin–lysolipid signaling suppresses a CCL11–eosinophil axis to promote pancreatic cancer progression
Bhattacharyya S, Oon C, Diaz L, et al.
Nat Cancer. 2024
Reviewed by Alessandro Vrenna, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
Emerging evidence for the antitumor activity of eosinophils in solid tumors motivated Bhattacharyya et al. to investigate the role of autotaxin (ATX)-derived lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) in regulating the pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) microenvironment. Read more
The authors examined eosinophil-recruiting chemokines in PDAC cells following genetic and pharmacologic inhibition of ATX, finding that CCL11 (eotaxin-1) was selectively upregulated. As the c-Jun transcription factor regulates CCL11 expression in other cellular contexts, they further assessed c-Jun phosphorylation and nuclear localization, concluding that ATX-LPA signaling represses c-Jun activity in PDAC cells.
The study then linked this pathway to tumor biology by showing that increased eosinophil infiltration was associated with greater PDAC cell apoptosis, whereas eosinophil depletion promoted metastatic spread. These findings support a functional link between ATX activity, suppression of CCL11, reduced eosinophil recruitment and PDAC tumor progression. To translate these findings to human disease, the authors observed that higher eosinophil density in PDAC tissue samples was associated with improved overall survival.
Overall, this is a robust and interesting study. The use of both genetic and pharmacological ATX inhibition strengthens the causal link between ATX activity and CCL11-mediated eosinophil infiltration, and highlights the role of eosinophils in tumor suppression. However, some important questions remain unresolved. In particular, the downstream mechanisms by which eosinophils mediate tumor suppression or the impact of ATX inhibition on other immune populations in the PDAC microenvironment. In addition, the primary mechanistic findings were observed in mouse models, which may not fully recapitulate human PDAC.
Although this study highlights the contributions of CCL11 to eosinophil migration in PDAC, the current literature on cancer-signaling remains limited and has more commonly described LPA as an activator of JNK/AP-1/c-Jun signaling (Oyesanya, RA et al. Mol Cancer (2010). https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-4598-9-8; Malchinkhuu, E et al. Oncogene (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1208805). Further research is needed to clarify the context-dependent mechanisms governing eosinophil infiltration into neoplastic tissue and their pro- or anti-tumorigenic functions across distinct tumor microenvironments.
Alessandro Vrenna is an MD–PhD trainee in Allergology and Clinical Immunology at the University of Brescia. Their research focuses on hymenoptera venom and drug allergies, severe asthma, chronic rhinitis, and eosinophilic disorders, including Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis. They are currently an investigator for Severe Asthma Network Italy (SANI) and a multicenter study on asthma phenotyping.
Past Reviews
May 2026
Tissue Environment Shapes Eosinophil Lifespan and Diversity
Roopa Hebbandi Nanjundappa, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
April 2026
Eosinophils Under Stress: A Sympathetic Circuit That Fuels Dermatitis
Delaney Ding, University of Florida, Florida, United States
February 2026
Eosinophils in the Real World: Spotting Hidden Hypereosinophilic Syndrome with Prediction Modeling
Reviewed by Stella Oyewole, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Ohio, United States
August 2025
Eosinophils and EGPA: How Far Can Mepolizumab Go?
Reviewed by Palma Carlucci, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
March 2025
Eosinophils at the Table: Is a Milk-Only Diet Effective for Pediatric Eosinophilic Esophagitis?
Reviewed by Nicholas Genovese, Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital, Pennsylvania, United States
January 2025
Eosinophils in Check: The Promise of Benralizumab in EGPA Management
Reviewed by Federico Spataro & Antonio Giovanni Solimando, University of Bari, Italy
Eosinophils Under Fire: Benralizumab for Eosinophilic Asthma and COPD Exacerbations
Reviewed by Carlos Andrés Celis-Preciado, University of Sherbrooke, Canada
October 2024
Biannual Depemokimab for Severe Eosinophilic Asthma
Reviewed by Santi Nolasco, University of Catania, Italy
September 2024
Nutrient-derived signals regulate eosinophil adaptation to the small intestine
Reviewed by Clotilde Lacroix, University of Bonn, Germany
Single-cell proteomics and transcriptomics capture eosinophil development and identify the role of IL-5 in their lineage transit amplification
Reviewed by Alexandre Ecrement, University of Franche-Comté, Franche-Comté, France
August 2024
Utility of eosinophil peroxidase as a biomarker of eosinophilic inflammation in asthma
Reviewed by Nicholas Genovese, Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital, Pennsylvania, United States
July 2024
Eosinophil Depletion with Benralizumab for Eosinophilic Esophagitis
Reviewed by Mario Ynga-Durand, MD, PhD, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Ohio, United States
June 2024
Subsets of sputum eosinophils in asthma exacerbations
Reviewed by Jakub Novosad, MD, PhD, Institute of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University Hospital, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
April 2024
Eosinophils potentiate anti-bacterial immunity
Reviewed by Roopa Hebbandi Nanjundappa, MSc, PhD, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
March 2024
Nourishing insights: diet-driven adaptation of eosinophils
Reviewed by Krishan Chhiba, MD, PhD, Northwestern University, Chicago, United States
February 2024
Eosinophils identified as a major contributor to bone homeostasis via eosinophil peroxidase activity
Reviewed by Nana-Fatima Haruna, PhD Candidate, Northwestern University, Chicago, United States
January 2024
Transcriptomic profiling of the acute mucosal response to local food injections in adults with eosinophilic esophagitis
Reviewed by Eva Gruden, Pharmacist, Medical University of Graz, Austria
December 2023
Bordetella spp. block eosinophil recruitment to suppress the generation of early mucosal protection
Reviewed by Rachael FitzPatrick, PhD Candidate, Reynolds Laboratory at the University of Victoria, Canada
October 2023
Neuromedin U programs eosinophils to promote mucosal immunity of the small intestine
Reviewed by Beth Jacobson, PhD with input from Marc Rothenberg, MD, PhD
Chronic HDM exposure shows time-of-day and sex-based differences in inflammatory response associated with lung circadian clock disruption
Reviewed by Julia Teppan, MSc.Ph.D.Student