Expression of antiviral molecular genes in nasal polyp-derived cultured epithelial cells.

Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate the existence of natural immunity mechanisms via which viruses are eliminated from nasal and paranasal sinus mucosa.

Objectives: Acute sinusitis and acute aggravation of chronic sinusitis are often caused by bacteria, which are secondary to viral infection of the nose. Antiviral molecules are considered to be expressed and protect the host after viral infection. We investigated the expression of antiviral molecules after viral infection of the nose.

Materials and methods: We assessed the expression of antiviral molecules, defensin and interferon mRNA, by the real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique after stimulating cultured nasal polyp cells with polyinosine-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)), which is an analog of double-stranded (ds) RNA.

Results: The expression of beta-defensin mRNA significantly increased after the stimulation. On the other hand, expression of both interferon-alpha mRNA and interferon-beta mRNA was recognized, but only the expression of interferon-beta mRNA increased after the stimulation.