[Detection of specific IgE of anti-Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins in nasal polyps and analysis theoretically about the superantigen hypothesis].

Objective: To search the evidence for the presence of superantigen of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin (SE) in the pathogenesis of nasal polyposis.

Methods: In a cohort of population composed of 42 cases who belonged to three groups: nasal polyposis, simple chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), and control group without any rhinopathy, detecting the specific IgE against SE-A and B (SEA and SEB), total IgE (TIgE), eosinophilic cationic protein (ECP) of the local mucosa by means of FRAST (UniCAP system), as well as the serum TIgE, and serum anti-SEA and SEB SIgE (only in 8 cases); meanwhile the secretion culture was performed for aerobic bacteria from the middle meatus.

Results: There was no evidence to support that SE played as a superantigen in all mucosa samples (42 cases) and 8 cases serum samples out of the 42 patients. The range of TIgE in mucosa was 4.59 -70.21 kIU/2 mg tissue protein, the mean was (17.85 +/- 14.31) kIU/2 mg tissue protein; in serum the total IgE was 7.44 - 344.00 kIU/L, the mean was (88.65 +/- 80.03) kIU/L The positive culture of Staphylococcus aureus was obtained from only 3 cases from secretion of middle meatus (1 from nasal polyps, 2 from CRS). There was no significance statistically among the three groups on the tissue fluorescence value of SIgE for SE, the means of tissue TIgE and ECP.

Conclusions: No evidence was found to support the role of SE acting as a superantigen among our cases who did not have persistent asthma. It is suggested that further study and investigation is required to prove the superantigen Hypothesis in the pathogenesis of NPs.