European journal of molecular biology and biochemistry

EXPLORING THE ROLE OF HMGB1 PROTEIN IN CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS WITH NASAL POLYPS: A COMPREHENSIVE IMMUNOHISTOLOGICAL STUDY

Dr. P Prashanth Kumar, Dr Payal Bhattacharya

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), HMGB1 protein, Inflammation pathogenesis, ENT pathology, Immunohistochemistry

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis can arise from various factors, including mechanical forces, viral attacks, bacterial infections, fungal exposure, immune disorders, and environmental pollutants. These stimuli can lead to epithelial damage and mucosal inflammation in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses, resulting in symptoms like nasal congestion, secretion, postnasal drip, and facial pain/headache. The release of cytokines, subepithelial edema, and infiltration of inflammatory cells, including eosinophils, neutrophils, mast cells, macrophages, and lymphocytes, characterize this condition. The HMGB-1 protein, implicated in inflammatory diseases, is released from damaged or necrotic cells, leading to the activation of endothelial function and enhanced survival of inflammatory cells by inducing pro-inflammatory mediators. This study aimed to investigate the expression of HMGB1 in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, examining its correlation with eosinophil production, IL5 and IL8 levels typical of nasal and paranasal sinus inflammation, and its potential contribution to the pathogenesis of nasal polyposis. Immunohistochemistry was employed on nasal mucosa samples from 42 patients with nasal polyps, assessing HMGB1 protein presence in various tissue sections, including nuclear and cytoplasmic staining, focal extracellular infiltration, and inflammatory staining. The results indicated enhanced nuclear expression of HMGB1 in epithelial cells from patients compared to controls, while cytoplasmic staining was notably reduced. Inflammatory cells demonstrated significantly higher HMGB1 production in patients, whereas subepithelial focal areas expressed lower levels compared to controls. These findings, combined with existing studies, strongly suggest that HMGB1 plays a role in eosinophil infiltration in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis