Oh Seung Jun, Min Yang-Gi, Kim Jeong-Whun, Lee Seung-Ju, Jarin Peter R
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2003 Oct;112(10):899-903. doi: 10.1177/000348940311201013.
Nitric oxide (NO), which is produced by nitric oxide synthase (NOS), has been recently identified as a multifunctional mediator. As for nasal tissue, however, the distribution and expression patterns of 3 isoforms of NOS, including neuronal NOS (nNOS, type I NOS), inducible NOS (iNOS, type II NOS), and endothelial NOS (eNOS, type III NOS), are still unclear. To evaluate the function of NO in the pathophysiology of nasal allergy, we investigated the distribution of NOSs in the nasal mucosa of C57BL/6 mice with allergic rhinitis to the house dust mite, Dermatophagoides farinae. Immunoreactivity to each isoform of NOS was immunohistochemically observed. In the allergic nasal mucosa, many eosinophils had infiltrated. Immunoreactivity to NOS types I and III was localized to the surface epithelial and vascular endothelial cells in both allergic and control groups without a statistically significant difference. In contrast, the type II NOS immunoreactivity was weak in normal mice and increased after allergic sensitization. The type II NOS expression of the surface epithelial and vascular endothelial cells was significantly elevated in the allergic group as compared with the control group. These findings suggest that a large amount of NO may be produced in the nasal mucosa of mice by type II NOS after allergic sensitization and that type II NOS may play an important role in the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis.
一氧化氮合酶（NOS）所产生的一氧化氮（NO）最近被确定为一种多功能介质。然而，关于鼻组织，包括神经元型一氧化氮合酶（nNOS，I型NOS）、诱导型一氧化氮合酶（iNOS，II型NOS）和内皮型一氧化氮合酶（eNOS，III型NOS）在内的3种NOS亚型的分布和表达模式仍不清楚。为了评估NO在鼻过敏病理生理学中的作用，我们研究了对屋尘螨粉尘螨过敏的C57BL/6小鼠鼻黏膜中NOS的分布。通过免疫组织化学观察了对每种NOS亚型的免疫反应性。在变应性鼻黏膜中，有许多嗜酸性粒细胞浸润。在变应性组和对照组中，对I型和III型NOS的免疫反应性均定位于表面上皮细胞和血管内皮细胞，两者之间无统计学显著差异。相比之下，II型NOS免疫反应性在正常小鼠中较弱，变应性致敏后增强。与对照组相比，变应性组表面上皮细胞和血管内皮细胞的II型NOS表达显著升高。这些发现表明，变应性致敏后，II型NOS可能在小鼠鼻黏膜中产生大量NO，且II型NOS可能在变应性鼻炎的发病机制中起重要作用。
