Pathological changes in the maxillary sinus mucosae of patients with recurrent odontogenic maxillary sinusitis

Objective: To study the structural and functional changes of maxillary sinus mucosae of patients with odontogenic maxillary sinusitis, and to improve the therapeutic effects. Methods: Ten mucosal biopsy samples collected during the surgeries of patients with recurrent odontogenic maxillary sinusitis were selected as Group A. Another ten mucosal biopsy sample were collected during retention cyst-removing surgeries and referred to as Group B. The mucosae were put in 10% neutral formalin solution for 1 day and prepared into 5-7 µm thick paraffin sections which were subjected to hematoxylin-eosin staining. The reactions included: (1) Reaction with T-lymphocyte (CD-3); (2) reaction with T-helper cell (CD-4); (3) reaction with T-suppressing cell (CD-8); (4) reaction with B-lymphocyte (CD-20). Polymeric horseradish peroxidase visualized detection system was used. The contents of CD3, CD4, CD8 and CD20 in the stained cells of the maxillary sinus mucosal layer were calculated. The responses of receptors to muramidase were classified as mild, moderate and strong. All data were analyzed by Statistica 6.0 package for Windows based on Mann-Whitney non-parametric standards. Results: The epithelial tissues in the maxillary sinus mucosa of Group B were covered with multiple rows of cilia. The epithelial cells of Group A suffered from degeneration, shrinkage and desquamation. Different cells were distributed in the autologous mucosal layer, of which macrophages, fibroblasts, lymphocytes and neutrophils were dominant. The average contents of macrophages and lymphocytes accounted for 42.8%. Lymphocyte subset analysis showed that the number of CD3 cells exceeded that of CD20 ones and there were more CD4+ cells than CD8+ ones. T-helper and T-suppressing cells were distributed remarkably differently. CD8+ cells were mainly located inside and under the epithelium, while CD4+ cells were scattered in the autologous matrix. Conclusion: For patients with recurrent odontogenic maxillary sinusitis, the maxillary sinus mucosa mainly suffered from regeneration of epithelial tissues and inhibition of cell proliferation, which were accompanied by damages to the protective and shielding effects of the mucociliary transport system. Macrophages and lymphocytes dominated in the infiltration of autologous mucosal layer, and the coexisting copious fibroblasts indicated the onset of inflammation.