Antigen induced histamine release from mucosa in nasal polyposis

This study was designed to detect local immediate-type hypersensitivity in patients with nasal polyposis. For this purpose, 20 patients were tested for antigen-induced histamine release from biopsies of nasal mucosa and nasal polyps. Compared with controls, histamine-release was increased after incubation with bacterial but not synthetic antigens. Fourteen patients allergic to pollen were studied; biopsy specimens of their nasal mucosa released more histamine on incubation with pollen than with synthetic antigens. These findings suggest that, like pollen allergy, nasal polyposis is a manifestation of immediate type hypersensitivity, possibly to bacterial antigens.