Investigation of Erythrocyte Membranes in Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps by the Method of Fluorescent Probes

Chronic rhinosinusitis is one of the most common diseases in the clinical practice of otorhinolaryngologists. It has been reported that free radical processes, oxidative stress and upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis. Cytokines can enhance the generation of reactive oxygen species and aggravate oxidative damage to tissues. It has been shown in numerous papers that both chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps and chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps are accompanied by local and systemic changes in the cytokine profile. Systemic changes in rhinosinusitis, in particular, an increase in blood levels of proinflammatory cytokines, can lead to damage to cells outside the inflammatory area, taking into account the ability of some interleukins to induce ROS generation. We have hypothesized that in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, changes in the membrane structure can occur and their detection can be used for diagnostic purposes. The purpose of the research was to study the lipid bilayer of erythrocyte membranes in patients with rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. For the study we used fluorescent probes - ortho-hydroxy derivatives of oxazole, the molecules of which are sensitive to the changes in the physicochemical properties of their microenvironment. Materials and methods. Twenty patients who were treated in the department of otorhinolaryngology at Kharkiv Regional Clinical Hospital were examined. They were diagnosed with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. The control group included twenty healthy individuals with deviated nasal septum. All manipulations with patients were carried out according to The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) and Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine (ETC 164). All patients signed the informed consent. To study the state of the lipid bilayer of erythrocyte membranes in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, we used fluorescent probes: 2-(2-OH-phenyl)-5-phenyl-1,3-oxazole (O1O probe), 2-(2-ОН-phenyl)-5-(4-phenyl-phenyl)-1,3-oxazole (O6O probe), and 2-(2-ОН-phenyl)-phenanthrene(10,11)-1,3-oxazole (PH7 probe). Results and discussion. It was found out that in patients with rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps there were no changes in the region of glycerol residues of phospholipids, in the region of carbonyl groups of phospholipids and in the region of fatty acid chains of phospholipids of erythrocyte membranes. Conclusions. The results, obtained in the case of the application of the most hydrophobic probe, namely PH7, enable us to make the assumption that during the pathology there is an increase in hydration of the most polar region of the erythrocyte membrane: the region of the polar heads of phospholipids.