We read with interest the article by Qiu et al (Thorax 2007;62:475–82). In this paper, neutrophils and eosinophils were identified using mouse anti-human neutrophil elastase and anti-eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), both monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). mAbs against ECP have been used to detect total eosinophils, but immunostaining techniques evidenced that the number of ECP⁺ cells was higher than the number of eosinophils.1 Recent studies show that ECP is not only a distinctive eosinophil protein, but has been found in neutrophils.1^–3

In this regard, it has been reported …