Increased expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α in the nasal polyps

Hsu, Ying-Che; Kuo, Wen-Rei; Chen, Yi-Yu; Tai, Chi-Feng; Tsai, Chi-Jen; Wang, Ling-Feng

doi:10.1016/j.amjoto.2006.11.004

« Previous Next »American Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Medicine and Surgery
Volume 28, Issue 6 , Pages 379-383, November 2007

Increased expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α in the nasal polyps

Ying-Che Hsu, MD
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Taiwan
Wen-Rei Kuo, MD
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Taiwan
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan
Yi-Yu Chen, MD
- Department of Pathology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Taiwan
Chi-Feng Tai, MD
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Taiwan
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan
Chi-Jen Tsai, PhD
- Department of Pathology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Taiwan
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan
Ling-Feng Wang, MD
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Taiwan
- Corresponding author. Department of Otolaryngology, Kaohsiung Medical University, No. 100, Tzyou 1st Road, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 7 3208264; fax: +886 7 3208264.

Received 5 October 2006

Abstract

Purpose

The etiology and mechanism of nasal polyps are still not well known. A newly discovered transcriptional factor, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), is a DNA-binding protein. Hypoxia-inducible factor is demonstrated to associate with various neoplasms. We investigate the expression of HIF-1α protein in nasal polyps compared with inferior turbinate mucosa, further examining the correlation to the computed tomography (CT) scoring and duration of symptoms with HIF-1α expression.

Materials and methods

Surgical specimens of polyps from 38 patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery had immunohistochemical staining for HIF-1α and vascular endothelial growth factor. Thirty-six patients who had undergone septomeatoplasty were collected as a control group. The severity of the disease was judged by the Lund–Mackay scoring system by CT scanning.

Result

The expression of HIF-1α and vascular endothelial growth factor were significantly increased in nasal polyps than in the control group. No correlation was found between the severity of CT scan and duration of symptoms to the HIF-1α expression.