Expression and Role of Acidic Mammalian Chitinase and Eotaxin-3 in Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps

Objective: Acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) has been found to play an important role in allergy and asthma. Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNPs) is chronic inflammation with eosinophilic infiltration, which is similar to asthmatic inflammation. The role of AMCase in CRSwNPs has been less studied. Eotaxin-3 is a potent eosinophil attractant and can induce eosinophil recruitment and activation in the airways of asthmatics. The expression and role of eotaxin-3 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and its relationship to AMCase in CRSwNPs have not been studied previously. Subjects and Methods: Twenty-three subjects with nasal polyps and nine subjects with nasal septum deviation were included in the study. The polyps and inferior turbinate mucosa were obtained as the tissue samples. Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze and compare the expression levels of AMCase and eotaxin-3 in nasal polyps and inferior turbinate tissues (ITTs). Results: AMCase and eotaxin-3 were detected in all nasal polyps and ITTs. The expression ratio of AMCase mRNA was 123.90 +/- 30.60 in nasal polyps and 2.38 +/- 0.41 in ITTs. The expression ratio of eotaxin-3 mRNA was 43.58 +/- 15.15 and 0.84 +/- 0.30, respectively. The expression of AMCase and eotaxin-3 mRNA was significantly higher in nasal polyps than in ITTs (p < .01). Conclusions: Our results reveal that AMCase and eotaxin-3 may be important mediators in the pathogenesis of nasal polyps. The increased AMCase and eotaxin-3 might lead to nasal polyp formation and growth. Future studies are needed to determine the potential of AMCase and eotaxin-3 as therapeutic targets in CRSwNPs.