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Electrical Impedance and Expression of Tight Junction Components of the Nasal Turbinate and Polyp
Hideaki Suzuki, Hiroki Koizumi1, Shoji Ikezaki
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu, Japan.
Purpose:
We investigated the electrical impedance and expression of tight junction components of the turbinate mucosa, nasal polyp, and normal skin.
Procedures:
The inferior turbinate and nasal polyp of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis and the postauricular skin of patients with otitis media were examined. Electrical impedance was measured in vivo using a tissue conductance meter. Expressions of claudin-1 and tricellulin were examined by fluorescence immunohistochemistry and quantitative RT-PCR.
Results:
Electrical impedance was higher in the skin than in the turbinate and polyp, but did not differ between the turbinate and polyp. Immunoreactivities for claudin-1 and tricellulin were seen in the epithelial/epidermal layer. Expression of claudin-1 was higher in the skin than in the turbinate and polyp. The polyp tended to show higher expression of claudin-1 but showed lower expression of tricellulin than the turbinate. The ratio of claudin-1 to tricellulin was highest in the skin and lowest in the turbinate. The correlation between expressions of the two tight junction components was strongly positive in the skin (r = 0.964) and negative (r = -0.527) in the turbinate and polyp.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that the roles of claudin-1 and tricellulin in barrier function may be complementary, and may thereby maintain a constant level of permeability of the mucosal tissues.
