Innervation of nasal turbinate blood vessels in rhinitic and nonrhinitic children

An immunohistochemical study of the nasal mucosa was done in pediatric patients attending an otorhinolaringology (ORL) clinic. The goal was a comparison between vascular innervation in patients with or without symptoms of chronic rhinitis. All patients had an indication for tonsillectomy prior to their inclusion in this study. Samples were obtained under general anesthesia at the time of programmed surgery and fixed in a paraformaldehyde-picric acid mixture. Cryostat sections were immunostained for the following neuronal markers: protein-gene product 9.5 (PGP), calcitonin gene- related peptide (CGRP), substance P (SP), and C-terminal peptide of neuropeptide Y (CPON). The following classes of vessels were identified: arteries, sinusoids, veins, and arteriovenous anastomoses (AVAs). As shown by immunostaining with the general neuronal marker PGP, each vessel type had a characteristic innervation pattern, differing in the amount of fibers and their distribution within the adventitial and muscle layers. Evaluation of PGP, CPON, and CGRP immunoreactivity patterns indicated that rhinitic arteries and AVAs displayed a richer innervation than did nonrhinitic blood vessels. Quantification of vascular PGP immunostaining confirmed the difference of vascular innervation between nonrhinitic and rhinitic patients. Fibers immunostained by CPON partially accounted for the rhinitic arterial hyperinnervation.