Infiltration of eosinophils into the intestinal mucosa is a typical hallmark of anti- parasite immune responses and inflammatory disorders of the intestinal tract, and eosinophils are thought to contribute to anti-parasite responses and tissue damage associated with the inflammatory disorders by release of their cytotoxic granule content. However, utilizing novel tools to study eosinophils, it has been recognized that eosinophils are present in the gastrointestinal tract constitutively. In

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... ion as the dogmatic anti-parasite function of eosinophils has proven difficult to document experimentally, it has become increasingly clear that eosinophils are likely to have a more complex role than previously appreciated. Thus, the prevailing dogma of eosinophils merely as anti-parasitic effector cells is in the changing. Instead, it has been suggested that eosinophils can contribute also to several other processes in the intestinal mucosa, e.g. local tissue homeostasis and adaptive immune responses. This review describes the current knowledge regarding characteristics and functions of intestinal eosinophils, and the regulation of eosinophil trafficking to the intestinal mucosa during steady state and inflammation. Finally, potential additional and novel roles of intestinal eosinophils in the intestinal mucosal immune system are discussed.