Tissue Cytokine Adenoid Experssion in Hypertrophic Adenoid Gland in Children with Allergic Rhinitis

To investigate the inflammatory pattern in terms of inflammatory cells and cytokines expression in children with adenoid hypertrophy (AH) and coexistent allergic rhinitis (AR).

A cross-sectional analytical study.

Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Shandong Provincial ENT Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong P. R. China, from October 2018 to August 2020.

A sample of 102 children with AH, who underwent adenoidectomy were enrolled. They were divided into two groups of AH, alone and AH with AR (AH+AR). A routine complete blood count, and the number of eosinophils in adenoid tissue was measured using hematoxylin-eosin staining. The tissue expression of cytokines was carried out using real-time quantitative PCR.

Forty-eight children (47%) were diagnosed with AR. The number and percentage of eosinophils in peripheral blood and adenoid tissue were statistically (p <0.05) higher in the group of AH+AR than AH alone. Furthermore, in patients with AH+AR, the mRNA expression levels of IL-12 and IFN-γ decreased, while IL-4, IL-8, IL-18, IL-33, H2R, LTR1, LTR2 and GCR all increased in adenoid tissue.

The pathological mechanism underlying adenoid hypertrophy in children with comorbid allergic rhinitis can be involved with predominant tissue eosinophilia and type 2 (or Th 2) inflammation. Key Words: Adenoid hypertrophy, Allergic rhinitis, Inflammatory features, Cytokines, Eosinophils.