Immunohistochemical expression of VEGF and VEGF receptors in nasal polyps as compared to normal turbinate mucosa

Upper Airway Stem Cells: Understanding the Nose and Role for Future Cell Therapy

“…It has been reported that in lower airway diseases (e.g., asthma, bronchiolitis obliterans, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cystic fibrosis), the pseudostratified airway surface epithelium is severely damaged and must regenerate to restore its defense functions [11]. The same results have also been found in the sinonasal epithelial cells from CRSwNP, such as up-regulation of MUC1, MUC4, and MUC8 [12,13]; down-regulation of MUC5AC [12,13] and TLR9 [14]; upexpression of VPF/VEGF [15,16] and LL-37 [17,18]; increased production of GM-CFS [19]; and staph invasion of sinonasal epithelial cells [20]. It is interesting that during the recovery or resolution phase of viral infections in the lower airways, the immune system must help to orchestrate tissue repair to restore normal lung architecture and function and prevent permanent defects in respiratory function [4••].…”

“…Epithelium has emerged as an active and complex organ with mechanical, biochemical, and immunological functions [32]. It has been demonstrated by immune-electron microscopy that an in vivo birch pollen challenge in sensitized AR patients could lead to a very rapid binding of the allergens to at least 16 Bet v 1-binding proteins (e.g., ACTG, PLEC1, STML2, KCNA5, CALM, and ANXA2) in nasal epithelium, which then travel through the nasal epithelium via a lipid raft and caveolar-dependent process before binding to mast cells in the lamina propria [33]. However, the mechanism of how allergens travel through the nasal epithelium remains unknown.…”

Cellular proliferation and angiogenesis in nasal polyps of young adult and geriatric patients

“…Many studies have reported the role of angiogenic growth factors in NP . VEGF, 1 of these factors, is considered the strongest proangiogenic mediator in humans and reportedly plays an important role in the pathogenesis of NP . VEGF participates in the regulation of capillary and basilar membrane permeability in NP, leading to heavy edema and polyp growth.…”

“…Second, we did not compare NP tissues with normal controls, which usually involve the turbinate mucosa. However, there are numerous reports demonstrating that PCNA, Ki67, and VEGF expression is significantly higher in NP tissue than in normal mucosa . Therefore, based on the results of these previous studies, we decided that evaluation of protein expression in normal tissue would be unnecessary when designing this experiment.…”

“…The rate of surface epithelial cell proliferation is higher in tissue affected by NP than in normal nasal mucosa, and angiogenesis is reportedly associated with the pathogenesis of NP . Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki67 are well‐known proteins that indicate cellular proliferation, and the level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) represents the degree of vascular permeability and angiogenesis within the tissue.…”