[Method for human peripheral blood eosinophil isolation for patch-clamp study].

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To establish a rapid and economic method for isolating human peripheral blood eosinophils with high viability for patch-clamp studies and investigate the electrophysiological properties of Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel of the isolated cells. METHODS: Peripheral blood eosinophils were isolated by modified discontinuous Percoll density gradient centrifugation, and the electric currents in the single Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels of the cells were recorded using patch-clamp technique with cell-attached configuration. RESULTS: The purity of the eosinophils from healthy donors reached (90.5+/-1.6)%, with a viability rate over 99% and recovery rate of (48.2+/-6.9)%. The isolated cells were morphologically intact, from which Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel activity could be detected. CONCLUSION: The peripheral blood eosinophils isolated using this rapid, simple and highly efficient method are characterized by high purity and viability without obvious cellular injuries, which are ideal for patch-clamp studies.