HETEROGENEITY OF MAST-CELLS AND T-CELLS IN THE NASAL-MUCOSA

Allergic diseases like atopic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, and urticari a are prevalent and on the rise. The need to better understand the pat hophysiology of these diseases is therefore crucial to the development of newer and more effective modes of treatment. We hypothesized that in inflammatory diseases like allergic rhinitis and asthma characteriz ed by profound local clinical manifestations and inflammation of the r elevant mucosae, the most important immunopathological findings must o ccur locally. Although studies on the cellular elements and mediators in the peripheral blood compartment may provide useful information, th ey may not accurately reflect events occurring within the target organ itself. Even in the normal mucosa there is a resident population of l ymphocytes and mast cells. Taking perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR) an d chronic infective rhinitis (CIR) as representative chronic airway in flammatory diseases we investigated the phenotypic and functional char acteristics of most cell and lymphocytes in the nasal mucosa of patien ts with PAR CIR during the natural course of the disease. We further c ompared the characteristics of lymphocytes in the nasal mucosa with th at in the peripheral blood compartment. our results demonstrated heter ogeneity of mast cells and T cells in the nasal mucosa. Furthermore, t he mucosal changes at the site of allergic inflammation were character ized by an increase in the proportion of CD4(+) CD45RO(+) T cells (mem ory cells); oligoclonal expansion and activation of V gamma 1/V delta 1(+) T cells; and increased number of Fc epsilon RI(+) cells; an incre ased proportion of T-H2- type cytokine expressing mast cells and lymph ocytes and of very late antigen-4 and very late antigen-5 expressing n asal mast cells, independent of alterations in CIR; and autologous per ipheral blood. these findings strongly suggest heterogeneity of lympho cytes and mast cells in the nasal mucosa based on the underlying infla mmatory disease, and compartmentalization of inflammatory cells in the nasal mucosa and peripheral blood.