Abstract
Lymphocytic infiltration within the mucosa of patients with chronic sinusitis may reflect an in situ immune reaction. An analysis of the T-cell receptor (TCR) expressed by these lymphocytes may help to understand T-cell immunity in chronic sinusitis. We analyzed the TCR Vβ gene rearrangements in T cells that infiltrated the mucosa of the maxillary sinuses in 24 patients with chronic sinusitis using the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction method. The analysis of the TCR Vβ repertoire revealed a significant limited usage (P < 0.01) of the Vβ gene families, compared with peripheral blood lymphocytes that expressed all of the gene families in all these patients. The limited gene usage of the T cells suggests that bacterial or viral infection of the sinus mucosa attracts T cells that specifically respond to the bacterial or virus-derived antigens.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.