Immunologic Derangement Of T-lymphocyte In Patients With Nasal Polyps

Nasal polyps is a commonly and frequently encountered disease in Otorhinolaryngological Department.The pathogenesis of nasal polyps remains elusive;so far it has been documented that the chronic continuous inflammation is a major determinant of the disease development.Studies have indicated T lymphocytes play a pivotal role in immune response at nasal polyps。ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to explore the distribution of Tc cells and levels of Th cell related cytokines in nasal polyps.MethodsTwo-step immunohistochemistry staining is used to examine CD8 expression in lesion tissue and adjacent normal tissue of 20 patients with nasal polyps.ABC-Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is performed to detect interleukin-4 and interferon-γlevels in lesion and adjacent normal tissue of 20 patients with nasal polyps and in serum of these patients and 18 healthy adults. ResultsNumber of CD8 positive cells is obviously higher in nasal polyps tissue than in adjacent normal tissue with statistic significance(P＜0.01).Serum IL-4 levels are significantly higher in patients with nasal polyps than healthy controls(P＜0.05).IL-4 levels in lesion tissue homogenate show an upward trend as compared with that in adjacent normal tissue.ConclusionImmunologic derangement occurs in lesion mucosa of patients with nasal polyps,with remarkable Tc cell numbers and aberrant cytokine predominance.The level of inflammatory cytokine IL-4 is elevated in patients with nasal polyps,which may alter the microenvironment of nasal mucosa and thus contribute to the pathogenesis of nasal polyps.