Chronic Rhinosinusitis Defined at Protein Levels

Abstract

Problem Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a leading health care problem worldwide. Although many studies have been performed on different aspects of this disease, there are still no unanimous agreement on the pathophysiology, definition and classification of the disease. Two major groups of CRS are CRS with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) and CRS without NP (CRSsNP). These 2 groups seem to have different features in pathophysiology, treatment and response to therapy. Recently, a lot of attention has been directed to gene expression and protein biomarkers in CRS. Different proteins were found in CRSwNP and CRSsNP mucosa. Studying CRS at protein level in large scale enables us to get vast information about their structure and function. In this study we investigated the protein profile of CRSwNP and CRSsNP mucosa. Methods Samples were taken from nasal mucosa of CRSwNP and CRSsNP patients. Proteins from these samples were extracted and separated by immobilized pH gradient (IPG)-based two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2-D DIGE). Resulting 2D-gel images were statistically analyzed using Delta2D software and differently expressed protein spots were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS). Results A reference map of approximately 1250 proteins could be established.74 proteins were significantly different (2-fold, p<0.05) between CRSwNP and CRSsNP mucosa. Up to now several of these significantly changed proteins could be identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS. Conclusion Up to now several of these significantly changed proteins could be identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS and their biological function will be discussed concerning the pathogenesis of human nasal polyps. Significance Knowing the proteome of mucosa in CRSwNP and CRSsNP and biological functions of proteins can lead us to new ways of treatment and open new horizons in CRS research field. Support The first author received a fellowship grant for performing the research from European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology.