A 28-year-old man presents to the emergency department with acute dysphagia and retrosternal discomfort after eating a meat sandwich. Endoscopy reveals the appearance marked **A** in the diagram — concentric fixed rings with linear furrows and white exudates on the esophageal mucosa. Biopsies from both proximal and distal esophagus show ≥15 eosinophils per high-power field. The patient reports a 2-year history of progressive solid-food dysphagia with adaptive eating behaviors (slow chewing, avoiding bread and meat). He has a past medical history of asthma and allergic rhinitis. Which of the following best describes the PRIMARY PATHOGENIC MECHANISM underlying the endoscopic findings marked **A**?