THE ROLE OF PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES IN RECRUITMENT OF CELLS IN NASAL INFLAMMATION

Cytokines and cell adhesion receptors play a pivotal role in the recruitment of cells from the peripheral blood into inflamed tissue. Allergic rhinifis has previously been described as an inflammatory reaction characterised by the migration of granulocytes into the nasal mucosa. Using this model, we investigated the release of proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha TNF-alpha) and the expression of cell adhesion molecules (ELAM-1, ICAM-1 and LFA-1) in two studies involving biopsies as well as lavage and brush techniques. IL-1beta and TNF-alpha can be found rapidly after allergen exposure and seem to initiate the cellular infiltration. The release of the chemokine IL-8 correlates with the continuously increasing number of granulocytes on the mucosal surface. Allergic rhinitis subjects showed significantly increased secretion levels of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1beta and IL-6 and of the chemokine Il-8. These findings correspond to a higher expression of the adhesion receptors ELAM-1, ICAM-1 and LFA-1 in allergic mucosa. We conclude that proinflammatory cytokines regulate the cell infiltration by the induction of adhesion receptor expression.