Department of Anatomy II, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.
Am J Rhinol Allergy. 2013 Jan;27(1):24-9. doi: 10.2500/ajra.2013.27.3838.
The nasal mucosa is characterized by a multirow high prismatic ciliated epithelium representing the first barrier of the immune defense system against microbial and other environmental pathogenic influences. A number of nonspecific defense mechanisms, including the presence of lactoferrin, peroxidases, proteases, interferons, and lysozymes in nasal secretions, act to counter inflammatory processes. The surfactant proteins (SPs) known from the lungs are important components of the innate immune system. They also influence the rheology of fluids and reduce the surface tension of gas-fluid interphases. The objective of this study was to investigate the protein expression of all four SPs. A specific aim was detection and characterization of SP-C, which had previously not been confirmed in human nasal mucosa.
The expression of mRNA for SP-A, -B, -C and -D was investigated using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction on samples of both healthy nasal mucosa and nasal mucosa altered by inflammatory processes (allergic rhinitis and chronic rhinosinusitis). The distribution of all four proteins was determined with monoclonal antibodies using Western blot analysis as well as immunohistochemical methods.
The results show that all four SPs, including SP-C not detected before this, are nasal mucosa components. A shift was also observed in the expression behavior of the SP-A, -B, and -D in nasal mucosa with inflammatory changes.
Based on these results, SPs appear to have an important function in immunologic and rheological process of the nasal mucosa and support the prospective therapeutic use of liposomal nasal sprays.
鼻腔黏膜的特点是有多排高棱柱形纤毛上皮，代表着针对微生物和其他环境致病因素的免疫防御系统的第一道屏障。许多非特异性防御机制，包括鼻分泌物中乳铁蛋白、过氧化物酶、蛋白酶、干扰素和溶菌酶的存在，都能起到对抗炎症过程的作用。肺部已知的表面活性剂蛋白（SPs）是先天免疫系统的重要组成部分。它们还影响着流体的流变学特性，并降低气液界面的表面张力。本研究的目的是调查所有四种 SPs 的蛋白表达情况。具体目的是检测和鉴定以前未在人鼻腔黏膜中确认的 SP-C。
使用逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR），对健康鼻腔黏膜样本和受炎症过程（过敏性鼻炎和慢性鼻-鼻窦炎）影响的鼻腔黏膜样本，检测 SP-A、-B、-C 和 -D 的 mRNA 表达情况。使用单克隆抗体，通过 Western blot 分析和免疫组织化学方法，确定所有四种蛋白的分布情况。
结果表明，所有四种 SPs，包括之前未检测到的 SP-C，都是鼻腔黏膜的组成部分。在有炎症变化的鼻腔黏膜中，SP-A、-B 和 -D 的表达行为也发生了变化。
基于这些结果，SPs 似乎在鼻腔黏膜的免疫和流变学过程中具有重要功能，并支持使用脂质体鼻喷雾剂进行有前景的治疗应用。
