Volume 49, Issue 8 pp. 1139-1149
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Tumour necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-5 inhibit olfactory regeneration via apoptosis of olfactory sphere cells in mice models of allergic rhinitis

Dong-Kyu Kim

Dong-Kyu Kim

Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital and Institute of New Frontier Research, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, South Korea

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Seung Ah Choi

Seung Ah Choi

Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Seoul National University Children’s Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

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Kyoung Mi Eun

Kyoung Mi Eun

Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Boramae Medical Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

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Seung-Ki Kim

Seung-Ki Kim

Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Seoul National University Children’s Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

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Dae Woo Kim

Corresponding Author

Dae Woo Kim

Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Boramae Medical Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

Correspondence

Dae Woo Kim, Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Boramae Medical Center, 425 Shindaebang 2-dong, Dongjak-Gu, Seoul 07061, South Korea.

Email: [email protected]

and

Ji Hoon Phi, Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Seoul National University Children’s Hospital, 101 Daehakro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, South Korea.

Email: [email protected]

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Ji Hoon Phi

Corresponding Author

Ji Hoon Phi

Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Seoul National University Children’s Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

Correspondence

Dae Woo Kim, Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Boramae Medical Center, 425 Shindaebang 2-dong, Dongjak-Gu, Seoul 07061, South Korea.

Email: [email protected]

and

Ji Hoon Phi, Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Seoul National University Children’s Hospital, 101 Daehakro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, South Korea.

Email: [email protected]

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First published: 13 April 2019
Citations: 15
Dong-Kyu Kim and Seung Ah Choi are equally contributed to this work.

Abstract

Background

Olfactory dysfunction is frequently experienced by patients with allergic rhinitis. It is thought to result from structural and functional changes occurring in the olfactory mucosa caused by inflammation. However, the current understanding of the pathophysiology of olfactory dysfunction in allergic rhinitis remains unclear.

Objective

To investigate the mechanism by which the olfactory neural cells are damaged in allergic rhinitis.

Methods

Olfactory sphere cells (OSCs) were established after dissociation and serial cultures of cells from the mouse olfactory mucosa. Viability and proliferation of OSCs were compared between control and allergic rhinitis mice models, and olfactory stem cell markers were analysed in vivo. To elucidate which cytokines have an inhibitory effect on OSCs, viability and apoptotic markers of OSCs were investigated.

Results

Olfactory sphere cells were successfully isolated from the olfactory mucosa of mice, and these cells expressed markers of neural stem cells. To investigate the neural differentiation, we performed the immunocytochemical staining and found significantly elevated expressions of Tuji1, GFAP and O4 on OSCs. On the comparison of the characteristics of OSCs between control and allergic rhinitis model, we detected significantly fewer neurospheres, reduced clonogenic capacity and decreased expression of olfactory neural stem cell markers in allergic rhinitis model. When OSCs were treated with several major allergic cytokines were treated on OSCs, only TNF-α showed an inhibitory effect on OSCs. Interestingly, IL-5 had an inhibitory effect on the viability of OSCs in combination with TNF-α, whereas IL-5 alone does not have an effect. Moreover, TNF-α combined with IL-5 significantly increased the apoptotic expression, compared with TNF-α or IL-5 alone. Additionally, allergic rhinitis mice models showed the increased apoptotic expression.

Conclusion and Clinical Relevance

Allergic rhinitis mice models showed lower expression of OSCs, and TNF-α combined with IL-5 had an apoptotic effect on OSCs. Therefore, these cytokines may be therapeutic targets for olfactory dysfunction in patients with allergic rhinitis.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare that they have no relevant conflicts of interest.

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