Expression of Neurokinin 1 Receptor in Allergic Rhinitis

Lee, Dong Jin; Lee, Heung Man; Lee, Sang Hag; Hwang, Soon Jae

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In airway tissues, the substance P has been suggested as the neurotransmitter in the afferent sensory nerve which responds to various irritants and that it may be involved in airway allergic reactions. Neurokinin 1 receptor exhibits preferential affinity for the substance P. In contrast to the substance P, neurokinin 1 receptor has not been examined at the protein level in nasal mucosa with allergic rhinitis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the localization and distribution of the neurokinin 1 receptor in the nasal mucosa of normal subjects and allergic rhinitis subjects. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Biopsy specimens were collected from 10 normal control subjects and 10 allergic rhinitis subjects and were immunostained for the neurokinin 1 receptor. Expressions of neurokinin 1 receptor were quantified through a light microscope.
RESULTS
Neurokinin 1 receptor was localized at the epithelium, inflammatory cells, vascular endothelial cells, and glandular cells in the nasal mucosa of both normal subjects and allergic rhinitis subjects. When comparing the distributions of normal nasal mucosa and neurokinin 1 receptor, the neurokinin 1 receptor was significantly increased in the epithelial cell layer of allergic rhinitis, but there was no difference in the submucosa between two groups.
CONCLUSION
These results show that neurokinin 1 receptor in the nasal epithelial cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of hyper-reactivity in allergic rhinitis.