The surrounding environment contains plenty of pathogens, which represent a danger of
infection. The simplest way for the pathological microorganism to enter the organism is the upper airways.
Inflammation of the upper airways is among the most common and frequent diseases. This category includes nasal polyposis and chronic
tonsillitis. In many cases it is associated with disorders in relation to the immune response. An inflammatory infiltration of mononuclears, eosinophils, plasma and mast cells can be found in the histological structure of the polypous as well as tonsillar mucosa. One aim of this study was to determine the expression of
beta-defensins and various
proteins, with a possible potential role in relation to the rise and development of those changes. Another aim was to determine the relationship between the inflammatory and malignant processes in the tonsils. The samples of
nasal polyps were obtained during clinically indicated endonasal surgery from patients diagnosed with nasal polyposis (n=50). The samples of tonsils were collected during surgery from patients suffering from chronic
tonsillitis (n=11) or tonsillar
carcinoma (n=17). Immunohistochemical procedures for the detection of human
beta-defensin 1, 2, 3 (HBD-1, 2, 3), Ki- 67,
endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and cleaved
caspase 3 were performed on cryostate and
paraffin sections. It was proven that HBD are secreted in fairly large amounts in cases of chronic
inflammation. Their secretion during the malignant transformation is limited. This is a very probable fact that plays a role in malignant transformation in tonsillar tissue. The crucial role in the development of chronic
inflammation, and maybe that of malignant transformation, is played by eNOS and its product NO molecule. eNOS and the NO molecule are involved in cell cycle regulation, in the apoptotic processes and cell proliferation, as well as in the angiogenesis and vasculogenesis. Our result confirmed that eNOS is presented in the tissues of the upper airways in both chronic
inflammation and carcinomatous processes. Ki-67 and cleaved
caspase 3 were used as markers of cell proliferation and apoptosis.