@Article{,
AUTHOR = {Cengiz Kirmaz, Kemal Ozbilgin, Hasan Yuksel, Papatya Bayrak, Halis Unlu, Gulsen Giray, Bulent Kiliccioglu},
TITLE = {Increased expression of angiogenic markers in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis},
JOURNAL = {European Cytokine Network},
VOLUME = {15},
YEAR = {2004},
NUMBER = {4},
PAGES = {317--322},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/ECN/v15n4/66362},
ISSN = {1952-4005},
ABSTRACT = {Background. Increased vascularity due to neo-angiogenesis is an essential part of airway remodel-ling.
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), CD34 and von Willebrand’s factor (FvW) are known angiogenic
markers. Angiogenesis and airway remodelling has been documented in asthma but not in allergic rhinitis.Ob-jective:
We aimed to investigate the presence of increased angiogenesis and its relation to angiogenic molecules,
namely VEGF, CD34 and FvW, in endothelial cells of nasal mucosa in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis
(SAR), using three different immunohistochemical analysis methods, namely HSCORE, microvessel density
(MVD) and vascular surface density (VSD). The findings in allergic rhinitis were compared with the findings in
nasal septal deviation (NSD), which is not associated with increased angiogenesis. Methods. Twenty patients with
symptomatic SAR, who were not under treatment, were enrolled in the study. Ten patients with NSD, who needed
surgical therapy, served as the control group. Demographic characteristics did not differ between the two groups.
Inferior turbinate biopsy was obtained from SAR patients and control patients, under local anaesthesia and
during surgery respectively. All biopsies were evaluated for angiogenesis on the basis of VEGF, CD34 and FvW
by two blinded histologists using three immunohistochemical analysis methods (HSCORE, MVD and VSD).
Results. HSCORE, estimated on the basis of each staining technique, showed statistically significant differences
among the two groups (p=0.002; p=0.045; p=0.016, respectively). Anti-CD34 and anti-VEGF showed higher MVD
values in SAR when compared to the controls (p=0.038; p=0,009, respectively). No statistically significant
difference was found in Anti-FvW-based MVD between SAR patients and controls (p=0.071). The measurements
of VSD for FvW and VEGF from nasal biopsy specimens displayed a statistically significant difference between
the two groups (p=0.004; p=0.0001, respectively). However, measurement of VSD for CD-34 was not significantly
different between the groups (p=0.086). On the other hand, morphometric data obtained by all three methods did
not correlated. Conclusion. There are a few studies that have investigated the essential role of angiogenesis in the
pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis. We conclude that, increased angiogenesis may be as prominent in patients with
allergic rhinitis as in patients with non-allergic nasal pathologies and may play an important role in the
remodelling of nasal mucosa of subjects with SAR.},
DOI = {}
}