Eosinophils are a feature of upper and lower airway pathology in non-atopic asthma, irrespective of the presence of rhinitis

Background Asthma and rhinitis often co‐exist and there are data to suggest that they may be two ends of the same disease spectrum. Immunohistochemical studies have shown that eosinophilia in the airways is a feature of rhinitic patients without asthma. Objective The aim of our study was to examine...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical and experimental allergy 2000-05, Vol.30 (5), p.663-669
Main Authors: Gaga, M, Lambrou, P, Papageorgiou, N, Koulouris, N G, Kosmas, E, Fragakis, S, Sofios, C, Rasidakis, A, Jordanoglou, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
asthma
Asthma - blood
Asthma - immunology
Asthma - pathology
Bronchi - immunology
Bronchi - pathology
eosinophils
Eosinophils - pathology
Female
Humans
Leukocyte Count
Lymphocyte Count
Male
Middle Aged
Nasal Mucosa - immunology
Nasal Mucosa - pathology
non-atopic
rhinitis
Rhinitis - blood
Rhinitis - immunology
Rhinitis - pathology
Surveys and Questionnaires
T-Lymphocytes - pathology
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Summary:Background Asthma and rhinitis often co‐exist and there are data to suggest that they may be two ends of the same disease spectrum. Immunohistochemical studies have shown that eosinophilia in the airways is a feature of rhinitic patients without asthma. Objective The aim of our study was to examine whether cellular infiltration exists in the nasal mucosa of asthmatics even in the absence of symptoms and signs of rhinitis. Methods Nasal mucosa biopsies were taken from 27 non‐atopic subjects and comprised nine asthmatic rhinitic patients (AR), eight asthmatic non‐rhinitic patients (ANR) and 10 healthy control subjects (N). Bronchial mucosa biopsies were also taken simultaneously from some of the patients (n = 10) to determine whether there was an association between cellular infiltration in the nose and the lungs. The alkaline phosphatase‐anti‐alkaline phosphatase (APAAP) method was used on 6 μm thick cryostat sections using monoclonal antibodies against T cells (CD4, CD8), eosinophils (EG2) and mast cells (mast cell tryptase). Slides were counted blind and results expressed as cells per field. Results The results showed that eosinophil counts were higher in both asthma groups compared with control nasal biopsies (median values AR 8.3, ANR 9.2, N 2.1 cells per field, P 
ISSN:0954-7894
1365-2222
DOI:10.1046/j.1365-2222.2000.00804.x