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Monocyte chemotactic protein expression in allergy and non-allergy-associated chronic sinusitis
E D Wright1, S Frenkiel, O Ghaffar
1Meakins-Christie Laboratories, Montreal.
Objective:
Chronic sinusitis (CS) is characterized by inflammatory mucosal thickening and polyp formation with a predominantly eosinophilic infiltrate. Chemokines are a novel group of inflammatory mediators capable of attracting specific inflammatory cell populations. Monocyte chemotactic proteins (MCP) are a subfamily of chemokines (MCP-1, MCP-2, MCP-3, and MCP-4) that share a number of functional properties including chemotactic activity for eosinophils. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of the MCP family of chemokines in allergy and non-allergy-associated chronic sinusitis using the technique of immunocytochemistry.
Method:
We examined the expression of MCP-1, MCP-3, and MCP-4 in biopsies from the ethmoid sinuses of patients with CS and normal controls.
Results:
MCPs were localized to the epithelial cells and a subset of inflammatory cells within the mucosa. The expression of both MCP-3 and MCP-4 immunoreactivity were significantly increased in patients with both allergy and non-allergy-associated CS compared to normal controls (p < .001). There was no significant difference in the expression of MCP-1 in nasal biopsies from individuals with CS and normals. The level of expression of MCP-3 and MCP-4 correlated with eosinophil (p < .001) and CD4-positive T-cell infiltrate (p < .001) but not with CD8-positive T-cell infiltration.
Conclusions:
Our data suggest biologic redundancy in the expression of eosinophil chemoattractants in CS and a potential role for MCP-3 and MCP-4, but not MCP-1, in the pathophysiology of this disorder. Further, chemokines may be a common link between the eosinophilia of allergy-associated and non-allergy-associated CS, a finding that may have therapeutic implications.