Bitter Taste Receptor Expression in Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps: New Data on Polypoid Tissue.

Studies have shown differences in receptor expression in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) compared to healthy controls. Known agonists of stimulate epithelial cells, leading to robust intracellular nitric oxide (NO) production, which damages bacterial membranes, enzymes, and DNA, but also increases ciliary beat frequency. In this study we examined, using qRT-PCR, the expression of receptor in nasal polyps (NP) of patients with CRS (N = 107) and in inferior turbinate mucosa (ITM) of patients with CRS and controls (N = 39), and confronted it with clinical features and the severity of the disease. The expression was shown in 43 (50.00%) samples of ITM in the study group (N = 107), in 28 (71.79%) in the control group (N = 39) ( = 0.037), and in 43 (46.24%) of NP. There were no differences in levels of the expression in all analyzed tissues. Patients who rated their symptoms at 0-3 showed higher expression in ITM in comparison to the patients with 8-10 points on the VAS scale ( = 0.020). A noticeable, however not significant, correlation between the expression in ITM and the Lund-Mackay CT score was shown ( = 0.068; R = -0.28). Patients with coexisting asthma had significantly higher receptor expression in the NP ( = 0.012). Our study is the first to confirm the presence of the receptor in NP. Expression of the receptor is reduced in the sinonasal mucosa in patients with more advanced CRS with NP.