Epithelium and stroma from nasal polyp mucosa exhibits inverse expression of TGF-[beta]1 as compared with healthy nasal mucosa

Objective To evaluate TGF-[beta].sub.1 expression in polypoid mucosa (epithelium and stroma) of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP). Methods Cross-sectional study with two groups: 17 patients with nasal polyposis and 11 controls. Polyps and normal nasal mucosa were processed by immunohistochemical methods for TGF-[beta]1 visualization. Then, the percentage of TGF-[beta]1 expression in stroma and epithelium was objectively quantified using UT Morph software. Results A lower percentage of positive expression was found in the epithelium of CRSwNP patients (32.44%) versus normal controls (55.91%) (p < 0.05), and a higher percentage of positive expression in the stroma of CRSwNP patients (23.24%) versus controls (5.88%) (p < 0.05). Conclusion The lower percentage of TGF-[beta].sub.1 expression in the nasal epithelium of CRSwNP patients may have an impact on epithelium-directed topical treatments employed in this patient population. Keywords: TGF-[beta]1, Nasal polyps, Rhinosinusitis, Mucosa