Characterization and quantification of cellular infiltrates in nasal mucosa of patients with grass pollen allergy, non-allergic patients with nasal polyps and controls.

Little is known about cellular infiltrates in nasal mucosa and the differences between these infiltrates in allergic and non-allergic patients. A reproducible and objective method making use of monoclonal antibodies for the quantification and characterization of cellular infiltrates in biopsy specimens of nasal mucosa is described. This method was used to study quantitative differences in cellular infiltrates in the epithelium and lamina propria of the nasal mucosa of patients with isolated grass pollen allergy, non-allergic patients with nasal polyps, and controls. A surprisingly wide variation was found in all groups. In all groups the T lymphocytes were much more numerous than the B lymphocytes. The number of CD8+ cells exceeded the number of CD4+ cells in the epithelium but in the lamina propria the numbers were approximately equal. Significant differences between the three groups were found with respect to the number of CD1+, IgE+, neutrophils and cytoplasmic IgG4+ cells. No significant differences were found in the numbers of CD4+, CD8+, CD14+, CD22+, HLA-DR+, IgG1-3+ cells or eosinophils. The use of biopsy in combination with monoclonal antibodies is an easy and well-tolerated method to study immunological reactions in the nasal mucosa. The results of this study indicate a possible role for a T-cell-mediated response in allergic rhinitis.