Pulmonary Research Group, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2012 Mar;108(3):172-7. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2011.12.013. Epub 2012 Jan 12.
Nitric oxide (NO) has various roles in airway physiology and pathophysiology. Monitoring exhaled NO levels is increasingly common to measure airways inflammation and inhaled NO studied for its therapeutic value in premature infants and adult respiratory distress syndrome. NO is produced by 3 isoforms of NO synthase (NOS1, 2, 3), and each can play distinct and perhaps overlapping roles in the airways. However, the distribution, regulation, and functions of NOS in various cells in the upper airways, particularly in leukocytes, are incompletely understood.
To characterize the expression of NOS isoforms in leukocytes in normal middle turbinate tissues (MT) and in inflammatory nasal tissue (nasal polyps, NP).
Normal MT tissue was collected from surgical specimens that were to be discarded. The NP samples were from surgical tissue archives of 15 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. Isoforms of NOS in cells were identified by double immunostaining using NOS isoform-specific and leukocyte-specific (mast cell, eosinophil, macrophage, neutrophil, or T cell) antibodies.
The proportion of total cells below the epithelium that were positive for each isoform of NOS was higher in NP than in MT. Each isoform of NOS was found in all leukocyte populations studied, and there were significant differences in the percentage of leukocytes expressing NOS isoforms between MT and NP.
All isoforms of NOS are expressed in leukocytes in MT and NP, and their expression varies among leukocyte types. Our data provide a basis to investigate the regulation, cell distribution, and distinct functions of NOS isoforms in normal and inflamed nasal tissues.
一氧化氮（NO）在气道生理和病理生理学中具有多种作用。监测呼出气一氧化氮水平越来越普遍，用于测量气道炎症，而吸入一氧化氮则因其在早产儿和成人呼吸窘迫综合征中的治疗价值而受到研究。NO 由 3 种一氧化氮合酶（NOS1、2、3）同工酶产生，每种同工酶在气道中可能发挥独特且可能重叠的作用。然而，NOS 在上气道各种细胞（特别是白细胞）中的分布、调节和功能尚不完全清楚。
描述正常中鼻甲组织（MT）和炎症性鼻组织（鼻息肉，NP）中白细胞一氧化氮合酶（NOS）同工酶的表达情况。
从拟废弃的手术标本中采集正常 MT 组织。NP 样本来自 15 例慢性鼻-鼻窦炎患者的手术组织档案。使用 NOS 同工酶特异性和白细胞特异性（肥大细胞、嗜酸性粒细胞、巨噬细胞、中性粒细胞或 T 细胞）抗体的双重免疫染色来鉴定细胞中的 NOS 同工酶。
NP 组织中上皮下的阳性细胞中每种 NOS 同工酶的比例均高于 MT。NOS 的每种同工酶均存在于所有研究的白细胞群体中，MT 和 NP 之间表达 NOS 同工酶的白细胞比例存在显著差异。
MT 和 NP 中的白细胞均表达所有 NOS 同工酶，其表达在白细胞类型之间存在差异。我们的数据为研究正常和炎症性鼻组织中 NOS 同工酶的调节、细胞分布和独特功能提供了基础。
