[Regulatory dysfunctions in nasal polyposis]

Chronic rhinosinusitis is a heterogeneous group of inflammatory diseases with significant annual costs for the health care system. To date, there is no distinct signaling pathway known that explains the entire process from the beginning to tissue transformation. Due to the diversity of chronic rhinosinusitis, no uniform treatment has yet been developed. With a focus on chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), molecular biologic gene expression studies have been performed to identify specific characteristics of nasal polyps that might allow the development of new therapeutic procedures. Microarray analysis revealed alterations in cell adhesion and differentiation as well as blood vessels. Further examinations identified two mechanisms that could play an important role in the pathogenesis of nasal polyps. In the context of the underlying disease, i.e., Th2-mediated chronic inflammation with predominantly eosinophilic cell infiltration, these findings might explain the pathogenesis of nasal polyps and allow development of new therapeutic strategies.