Expression of Major Lipid Raft Protein Raftlin in Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps in Smoking and Non-Smoking Patients Correlated with Interleukin-17 and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Levels

Abstract

Raftlin, as an inflammatory biomarker, has been previously reported in chronic inflammatory diseases. This study investigates the expression of Raftlin in cigarette smokers and in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), as well as evaluating its correlation with interleukin-17 (IL-17) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels. A total of 30 CRSwNP non-smoking and 16 CRSwNP + SK (smoking) patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery were enrolled, while 20 middle turbinate tissue pieces were examined and performed as the control group. In nasal mucosa epithelial staining, Raftlin levels were elevated in the columnar cells and were stained much more intensely in the CRSwNP and CRSwNP + SK groups. Raftlin was located more closely to the apical region of the epithelium in the CRSwNP + SK group; however, the Raftlin levels from whole nasal tissue pieces, according to ELISA data, showed that there was no significant difference between the three different study groups. A positive relationship by Pearson correlation was found between IL-17 or TNF-α levels and Raftlin levels. Taken together, these data indicate that increasing Raftlin expression in columnar cells might involve nasal epithelial remodeling in smokers with CRSwNP.

Comparison of cytokine expression and disease severity between plasma cell-dominant and eosinophil-dominant patients in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps

“…S1 ) and ten patients with mixed eosinophil-dominant and plasma cell-dominant patterns (14%), allowing us to focus on the specific type 2 inflammatory profiles; moreover, patients with a history of cigarette smoking were also excluded. Cigarette smoking was associated with increased levels of IL-17 and type 3 inflammation [ 25 , 26 ]. Although the reason for this difference has yet to be confirmed, the noticeable increase in the proportion of plasma cells in southern Taiwan CRSwNP patients could be due to specific local conditions, including air pollution, a humid environment, or a particular ethnic genotype.…”