The evaluation of metallothionein expression in nasal polyps with respect to immune cell presence and activity

BMC Immunology

Research Article

Wojciech Jóźwicki¹  Krzysztof Piekutowski²  Łukasz Wicherek²  Magdalena Dutsch-Wicherek³  Paweł Stręk³  Romana Tomaszewska⁴  Agata Lazar⁴ 

[1] Department of Tumor Pathology and Pathomorphology the L. Rydygier Collegium Medicum UMK F. Lukaszczyk Oncology Center, Bydgoszcz, Poland;Gynecology and Oncology Department of the Lukaszczyk Oncological Center in Bydgoszcz and Chair of Gynecology, Oncology and Gynecological Nursing of the Ludwik Rydygier Medical College in Bydgoszcz, Mikolaj Kopernik University, Poland;Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Department, Jagiellonian University, 31-531, Sniadeckich 2, Krakow, Poland;Pathomorphology Department, Jagiellonian University, 31-530, Grzegorzecka, Krakow, Poland;

关键词: Nasal Polyp;    Chronic Rhinosinusitis;    Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia;    Immune Cell Infiltration;    Infiltrate Immune Cell;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2172-11-10

 received in 2009-10-03, accepted in 2010-03-09,  发布年份 2010

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe expression of metallothionein (MT) is involved in acquiring resistance to immune-mediated apoptosis; it is also a negative regulator of the immune response. Nasal polyps are typified by a resistance to immune-mediated apoptosis as well as by excessive immune cell infiltration. RCAS1 (receptor-binding cancer antigen expressed on SiSo cells) is a membrane protein capable of inducing the apoptosis of CTLs and NK cells. The aim of the present study has been to explore the expression of metallothionein with respect to immune cell presence and immune cell activity. In our study, we identified immune cells using CD4 and CD68 antigen expression and evaluated their activity using CD25 antigen expression. We then analyzed metallothionein, RCAS1, CD25, CD4, and CD68 in a sampling of 50 nasal polyps using the immunohistochemistry method. We were able to divide the nasal polyps into three main groups according to their predominant immune cell infiltration: eosinophilic nasal polyps (21 cases), lymphocytic nasal polyps (17 cases), and neutrophilic nasal polyps (12 cases).ResultsIn the present study, statistically significant differences between the MT expression in the epithelium and that in the stroma of the nasal polyps along with the accompanying alterations in activation markers on immune cells were found and the number of macrophages in both the eosinophilic and the lymphocytic nasal polyps was assessed. RCAS1-expressing macrophages were found only in the eosinophilic nasal polyps.ConclusionMT expression seems to favor the survival of nasal polyp epithelial cells in the adjacent area of increasingly cytotoxic immune activity. RCAS1-expressing macrophages seem to participate in creating the immune suppressive microenvironment and so help to sustain local inflammation.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Dutsch-Wicherek et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2010