Quantitative study of nasal secretory cells in normal subjects and patients with chronic sinusitis

The contribution of nasal secretory cells to mucus hypersecretion in chronic sinusitis was investigated. The mucosae of the inferior turbinate were obtained from 18 normal control subjects and 65 patients with chronic sinusitis. Histochemical quantitation showed that there was no significant difference in the number of goblet cells between normal controls and chronic sinusitis. On the other hand, the number of submucosal acinar cells in chronic sinusitis was significantly higher than that in normal controls (P < 0.01). The area occupied by the acini in lamina propria was also increased in chronic sinusitis (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in the distribution of the intra-acinar glycoproteins between normal control subjects and patients with chronic sinusitis. Results suggest that hyperplasia and hypertrophy of nasal acinar cells may have an important role in mucus hypersecretion in chronic sinusitis.