J Rhinol.  2021 Nov;28(3):141-146. 10.18787/jr.2021.00364.

Upregulation of the Vitamin D Receptor in the Nasal Mucosa of Patients With Allergic Rhinitis

• Kim HG
• Lee DB
• Lee TH
• Choi BY
• Han MS
• Lee SH
• Kim TH

• KMID: 2522782
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.18787/jr.2021.00364

Abstract

Background and Objectives
Vitamin D modulates immunity, including that of allergic diseases, and plays its roles through contact with vitamin D receptors (VDR). Recent studies have shown that patients with allergic rhinitis have low systemic serum vitamin D level. However, the expression of VDR in local tissue such as human nasal mucosa has not been investigated. Our study demonstrated that, in nasal mucosa of normal controls and patients with allergic rhinitis.
Materials and Methods
Nasal mucosa were harvested from twenty-five patients who had normal nasal mucosa and twenty-five patients with allergic rhinitis. After the total RNA isolation, we performed reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemical staining and western blot analysis.
Results
VDR were expressed in submucosal glands and the superficial layer of epithelial cell, and that inflammatory cells are expressed more highly in the nasal mucosa of patients with allergic rhinitis compared to those without. In the mucosa of patients with allergic rhinitis, VDR expression level was upregulated compared to that in normal nasal mucosa.
Conclusion
This findings suggest that VDR plays a role in the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis. Additional research is needed to determine the mechanism and consequences of VDR upregulation.

Keyword

Vitamin D; Vitamin D receptor; VDR; Allergic rhinitis; Nasal mucosa

Figure

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  Fig. 1. A: Semiquantitative reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction analysis of VDR mRNA level in normal and allergic nasal mucosa. B: Bands were quantified by densitometric scanning and the relative amount of each gene was calculated by dividing by the internal control, GAPDH. The bar indicates the mean±SD. *p<0.05. NT, normal inferior turbinate mucosa; AT, allergic inferior turbinate mucosa; VDR, vitamin D receptors.

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  Fig. 2. Immunohistochemical localization of VDR in normal nasal mucosa (A) and allergic nasal mucosa (B, C, D). Expression of VDR was largely weak in epithelial cells (vertical arrows) and submucosal glands (horizontal arrows) in normal nasal mucosa (A) whereas VDR was intensely expressed in the superficial epithelium (vertical arrows) and submucosal glands (horizontal arrows) in allergic nasal mucosa (B), which showed nuclear location (C, D). In addition, inflammatory cells (arrow heads) infiltrating into the nasal mucosa also showed VDR immunoreactivity (B). Vertical, horizontal arrow indicates epithelial cells, submucosal glands respectively and arrowhead shows inflammatory cells (A and B, original magnification, ×100; C and D, original magnification, ×400). VDR, vitamin D receptors.

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  Fig. 3. A: Western blot analysis of VDR in normal and allergic nasal mucosa. B: Bands were quantified by densitometric scanning and the relative amount of each gene was calculated by dividing by the internal control, actin. The bar indicates the mean±SD. *p<0.05. NT, normal inferior turbinate mucosa; AT, allergic inferior turbinate mucosa; VDR, vitamin D receptors.

Reference

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