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Cystic fibrosis: ultrastructural changes of nasal mucosa

  • Rhinology
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Abstract

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited multisystemic disorder that results in a generalized dysfunction of exocrine glands. Besides chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, chronic sinusitis, nasal polyposis and hypertrophy of the inferior turbinates with nasal airway obstruction are typical signs. Tissue samples of the inferior turbinates and nasal polyps were taken during nasal surgery from 21 children, ranging from 3 to 16 years of age. Light- and electron microscopical examination were carried out. Furthermore, specimens of nasal mucosa of patients without chronic inflammation as controls and specimens of duodenal mucosa of patients with CF were investigated. Under a thick layer of respiratory epithelium with a high proportion of goblet cells, the seromucous glands display abnormal morphological structures with wide mucous cells and cystic dilatation. The glandular cells show inhomogeneous glandular droplets in the supranuclear cell portion. The nucleus contains dispersed chromatin as a sign of increased activity and the structures of the Golgi apparatus are clearly detectable. Apart from investigations concerning nasal polyps in CF, studies on the different morphological changes of nasal mucosa at the electron microscopic level are rare. This histological study focuses on various morphological changes of nasal glands at the ultrastructural level in correlation with typical symptoms in CF. In addition, a comparison with electron microscopic findings of CF-enteropathies is proposed. These findings could help to bring information concerning new morphological aspects in the pathophysiology of patients with CF.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support was provided by the German Research Society (DFG, KN 501/1-2). In particular, we would like to thank the medical laboratory assistants Ms. C. Fischer and Ms. K. Linde for their collaboration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany

    Stephan Knipping

  2. Pathological Institute, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany

    Hans Juergen Holzhausen

  3. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich, Germany

    Andreas Riederer

  4. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Saarland, Homburg, Germany

    Marc Bloching

  5. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Magdeburger Str. 12, 06097, Halle/Saale, Germany

    Stephan Knipping

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  1. Stephan Knipping
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  2. Hans Juergen Holzhausen
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  3. Andreas Riederer
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  4. Marc Bloching
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Correspondence to Stephan Knipping.

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Knipping, S., Holzhausen, H.J., Riederer, A. et al. Cystic fibrosis: ultrastructural changes of nasal mucosa. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 264, 1413–1418 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-007-0393-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-007-0393-y

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