J Rhinol.
1997 Nov;4(2):139-144.
Ciliary Activity of Upper Airway Epithelial Cells of Rats with Experimentally Induced Allergic Rhinitis
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to investigate whether the ciliary activity of respiratory epithelium is affected in allergic rhinitis.
METHODS
Twenty Wistar rats were divided into an unsensitized control group and sensitized allergic group. The sensitized group was immunized intraperitoneally with ovalbumin, followed by intranasal administration of ovalbumin. Allergy was determined by an increase in nasal symptoms, the number of tissue eosinophils and a positive result to a passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) test. Nasal, nasopharyneal, tracheal, and bronchial epithelial cells were obtained from both the control and allergic groups. Ciliary beat frequency (CBF) was measured using a video-computerized analysis technique in vitro. We compared the CBF of two groups in each site. We also evaluated the findings of the nasal mucosa of both groups with an scanning electron microscope.
RESULTS
In vitro CBF measurement demonstrated that the CBF of the control and allergic groups did not differ significantly (p>0.05).
CONCLUSION
CBF is not affected by respiratory allergy.
