Nonselective chemokine levels in nasal secretions of patients with perennial nonallergic and allergic rhinitis.

BACKGROUND: An increased production of several chemoattractants, responsible for guiding the eosinophilic inflammatory process, has been reported in chronic rhinitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate nasal secretion levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), MCP-3, and regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) and to correlate those levels with nasal symptoms and degree of eosinophilia in patients with nonallergic rhinitis with eosinophilia syndrome (NARES) and perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR).

METHODS: Fourteen patients with PAR and 14 NARES patients were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Fourteen healthy subjects were included as controls. The concentrations of MCP-1, MCP-3, and RANTES in nasal secretions were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Eosinophil counts were performed by percentage of differential granulocyte counts during cytological examination of scraped nasal mucosa obtained from the inferior turbinate. Therefore, we scored rhinitis patients according to nasal symptom score.

RESULTS: We found significantly higher concentrations of MCP-1 (p < 0.0001), MCP-3 (p = 0.018), and RANTES (p < 0.0001) in nasal fluid of NARES patients compared to patients with PAR. In PAR patients, we found positive correlation between RANTES levels and nasal symptom score and eosinophil counts. In patients with NARES, the concentrations of MCP-1 and RANTES were associated with nasal symptom score and percentage of eosinophils.

CONCLUSION: NARES is characterized by higher degree of eosinophilic inflammation than PAR. RANTES correlates well with the level of eosinophilic inflammation in both diseases. The measurement of chemokine levels in nasal secretions could be useful in evaluating the degree of chronic nasal inflammation.