Charcot Leyden crystals are derived from?

ANSWER: (B) EosinophilsREF: Harrison's 18th ed chapter 60Repeat (**)Eosinophil cytoplasm contains Charcot-Leyden crystal protein, a hexagonal bipyramidal crystal first observed in a patient with leukemia and then in sputum of patients with asthma; this protein is lysophospholipase and may function to detoxify certain lysophospholipids.They vary in size and may be as large as 50 pm in length. Charcot-Leyden crystals are slender and pointed at both ends, consisting of a pair of hexagonal pyramids joined at their bases. Normally colorless, they are stained purplish- red by trichromeThey are indicative of a disease involving eosinophilic inflammation or proliferation, such as is found in allergic reactions and parasitic infections. Charcot-Leyden crystals are often seen pathologically in patients with bronchial asthma.During most infections, eosinophils appear unimportant. However, in invasive helminthic infections, such as hookworm, schistosomiasis, strongyloidiasis, toxocariasis, trichinosis, filariasis, echinococcosis, and cysticercosis, the eosinophil plays a central role in host defense. Eosinophils are associated with bronchial asthma, cutaneous allergic reactions, and other hyper sensitivity states.