Differential Effects of tnterleukin-1 Alpha and Interleukin-1 Beta on Human Peripheral Blood Eosinophils

lnterleukin-i (IL-i ) plays a major role in the response to infection, inflammation, and immunological challenge. Eosi- nophils participate in the host response to parasitic infec- tion and allergic and hypersensitivity diseases. The role of IL-i in these disease states has not been extensively explored. We have reported that purified human monocyte derived IL-i (mlL-i ). a mixture of the two IL-i forms but predominantly consisting of IL-i beta. modulates eosino- phil oxidative metabolism and enzyme secretion. Although the two major species of IL-i (IL-i alpha and IL-i beta) have identical specific activities on T cells, we now report the selective effects of human recombinant IL-i (hrlL-i ) alpha and hrlL-i beta on eosinophil function. Whereas hrlL-i beta caused a significant increase in arylsulfatase secretion I NTERLEUKIN-l (IL-I) is a family of molecules with