Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.,
Volume 160, Number 2, August 1999, 421-426
Effect of Biochemical Components on Rheologic
Properties of Nasal Mucus in Chronic Sinusitis
YUICHI
MAJIMA,
TERUHIKO
HARADA,
TAKESHI
SHIMIZU,
KAZUHIKO
TAKEUCHI,
YASUO
SAKAKURA,
SUSUMU
YASUOKA,
and
SUMIKO
YOSHINAGA
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Mie University School of Medicine, Tsu; and Department of Nursing, School of
Medical Science, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan
The effect of biochemical components on the viscoelasticity of nasal mucus from 24 patients with
chronic sinusitis (CS) was investigated by multiple stepwise regression analysis. The dynamic viscosity
(
') and the elastic modulus (G') of nasal mucus were determined with an oscillating sphere magnetic rheometer at oscillatory frequencies of 1 and 10 Hz. The ' and G' values of mucus determined at 1 Hz were 1.6 ± 1.5 Pa/s and 31.8 ± 31.0 Pa, respectively, and these values were much higher than
optimal viscoelasticity for mucociliary transport. The concentrations of fucose, N-acetyl neuraminic
acid, albumin, IgG, secretory-IgA, and lysozyme were measured in the same mucus samples. The multiple regression analysis showed that the concentration of fucose, a marker of mucous glycoproteins, was the most important determinant of ' and G'. The analysis also revealed that the level of IgG was
the next important determinant. The coefficients of multiple determination for fucose and IgG were
0.732 and 0.733 when the response variables were ' and G', respectively. The results indicate that
locally produced mucous glycoproteins may largely contribute to the high viscoelasticity of nasal mucus in CS.
