Interferon-α action in cytokine profile in eosinophilic nasal polyp cultures

Abstract Introduction Chronic rhinosinusitis is currently classified into two types: chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. In the West, approximately 80% of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps cases are characterized by a predominantly eosinophilic cell infiltrate and a Th2 cytokine pattern. Objective To evaluate the effect of Interferon-α on cytokine levels of the eosinophilic nasal polyp cell culture supernatant. Methods Cell cultures were performed based on nasal polypoid tissue samples collected from 13 patients with eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. Polyps were considered eosinophilic according to the histopathological examination. Cell cultures were stimulated with 3000 IU of interferon-α. Before and after the stimulus, concentrations of Interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor αand IL 2, 4, 6 and 10, using cytometric bead array, were assessed. Results Cell samples from eosinophilic nasal polyps from 13 patients were included in the study. Twenty-four hours after interferon-α stimulation, eosinophilic nasal polyp culture supernatants showed significantly decreased IL-4 concentrations and increase in interferon-γ, IL-10 and IL-6 concentrations compared to controls. There were no significant differences in tumor necrosis factor -α and IL-2 concentrations. Conclusion We demonstrated that interferon-α in vitro alters the pattern of cytokines in cell cultures of eosinophilic nasal polyps. Analysis of these alterations suggests that interferon-α promotes a rebalancing of inflammatory profiles in cell cultures, favoring the expression of Th1 and regulatory cytokines over Th2 cytokines.

摘要 引言：慢性鼻-鼻窦炎（chronic rhinosinusitis, CRS）目前分为两类：不伴鼻息肉的慢性鼻-鼻窦炎（chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps, CRSsNP）与伴鼻息肉的慢性鼻-鼻窦炎（chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, CRSwNP）。在西方人群中，约80%的伴鼻息肉慢性鼻-鼻窦炎病例以嗜酸性粒细胞浸润为主要特征，并呈现Th2细胞因子（T helper 2, Th2）表达模式。
目的：评估α干扰素（Interferon-α, IFN-α）对嗜酸性鼻息肉细胞培养上清液中细胞因子水平的影响。
方法：采集13例经组织病理学确诊为嗜酸性伴鼻息肉慢性鼻-鼻窦炎患者的鼻息肉组织样本，开展细胞培养。以3000 IU的α干扰素刺激细胞培养体系；采用流式细胞术微球阵列法（cytometric bead array, CBA）检测刺激前后的干扰素-γ（Interferon-γ, IFN-γ）、肿瘤坏死因子α（tumor necrosis factor α, TNF-α）以及白细胞介素-2（Interleukin-2, IL-2）、白细胞介素-4（Interleukin-4, IL-4）、白细胞介素-6（Interleukin-6, IL-6）与白细胞介素-10（Interleukin-10, IL-10）的浓度。
结果：本研究共纳入13例患者的嗜酸性鼻息肉细胞样本。与对照组相比，经α干扰素刺激24小时后，嗜酸性鼻息肉细胞培养上清液中的IL-4浓度显著降低，而干扰素-γ、IL-10及IL-6浓度显著升高；肿瘤坏死因子α与IL-2浓度无显著统计学差异。
结论：本研究证实，α干扰素在体外可改变嗜酸性鼻息肉细胞培养体系的细胞因子表达模式。对上述改变的分析表明，α干扰素可促进细胞培养体系的炎症谱重新平衡，使Th1型（T helper 1, Th1）与调节性细胞因子的表达优势优于Th2型细胞因子。