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Tonsillar cytokine expression between patients with tonsillar hypertrophy and recurrent tonsillitis
Emilia Mikola1, Varpu Elenius2, Maria Saarinen2
11Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Turku University Hospital and Turku University, Turku, Finland.
Clinical and Translational Allergy
|June 27, 2018
Summary
Tonsillar hypertrophy in patients showed a stronger anti-inflammatory response, with higher levels of interleukin-37 (IL-37). Immune gene expression remained stable across both hypertrophy and recurrent tonsillitis groups.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Otorhinolaryngology
- Virology
Background:
- Tonsils serve as a model for studying immune responses to infections and allergens.
- Limited data exists on differences in tonsillar infections and immune responses between tonsillar hypertrophy and recurrent tonsillitis.
- This study investigates virus detection and immune gene expression in patients undergoing tonsillectomy for these conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare virus detection in tonsils and nasopharynx between patients with tonsillar hypertrophy and recurrent tonsillitis.
- To analyze differences in T cell and interferon gene expression within tonsils of these patient groups.
- To identify specific immune markers associated with tonsillar hypertrophy versus recurrent tonsillitis.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of tonsils from 89 surgical patients (47 hypertrophy, 42 recurrent tonsillitis).
- Clinical characterization and symptom assessment using questionnaires.
- Respiratory virus detection via PCR in tonsils and nasopharynx.
- Quantitative real-time PCR for intratonsillar gene expression of various cytokines and transcription factors (IFN-α, IFN-β, IFN-γ, IL-10, IL-13, IL-17, IL-28, IL-29, IL-37, TGF-β, FOXP3, GATA3, RORC2, Tbet).
Main Results:
- Patients with tonsillar hypertrophy were younger, less likely to smoke, and had less pollen allergy.
- Increased detection of adenovirus, bocavirus-1, coronavirus, and rhinovirus in the nasopharynx of hypertrophy patients (P < 0.05).
- Bocavirus-1 was more frequently detected in hypertrophic tonsils (P < 0.05).
- Age-adjusted analysis revealed significantly higher mRNA expression of IL-37 in tonsillar hypertrophy (P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
- Intratonsillar T cell and interferon gene expression are relatively stable in both tonsillar hypertrophy and recurrent tonsillitis.
- The anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-37 was independently associated with tonsillar hypertrophy.
- Patients with tonsillar hypertrophy exhibited a slightly stronger anti-inflammatory response, primarily indicated by elevated IL-37 levels.
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