Article révisé par les pairs
Résumé : OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether cystic fibrosis (CF)-related nasal polyps exhibit significantly distinct glycohistochemical characteristics when compared with single vs massive nasal polyps obtained from patients without CF. DESIGN: Glycohistochemical characteristics were identified by means of 8 histochemical probes, including 5 plant lectins (peanut, gorse seed, wheat germ, Maackia amurensis, and Sambucus nigra agglutinins), 2 animal lectins (14- and 16-kd galectins), and 1 neoglycoprotein (exposing the Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen). The binding of the 8 glycohistochemical markers was determined by means of computer-assisted microscopy. For each probe, 3 quantitative parameters were computed: the labeling index, which describes the percentage of tissue area specifically stained by a given marker; the mean optical density, which reflects the staining intensity; and the concentrational heterogeneity, which characterizes the level of heterogeneity of the staining intensity. SUBJECTS: A series of 61 nasal mucosa specimens was analyzed, including 6 normal cases, 23 single and 18 massive polyposis cases without CF, and 14 nasal polyps associated with CF. RESULTS: Normal and polyposal nasal mucosa differed in terms of the amounts and linkage types of sialic acids (revealed by the wheat germ, M amurensis, and S nigra agglutinins) rather than the characteristics of galactoside expression (monitored with the peanut agglutinin and 2 animal galectins). In contrast, nasal polyps markedly differed between patients with and without CF with respect to galactoside expression (revealed by the peanut agglutinin and the 14-kd galectin) and the display of binding site(s) for the neoglycoprotein. CONCLUSION: Normal and polyposal nasal mucosa differ essentially in sialic acid presentation, while nasal polyps from patients with CF have a higher level of various lectin-reactive galactoside residues than nasal polyps from those without CF.

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