(1202) Adiponectin as a Potential Biomarker in Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Introduction: Adiponectin is an adipokine with multiple isoforms that exert tissue-specific anti and pro-inflammatory effects. Adiponectin is differentially expressed in Hispanic and non-Hispanic patients and has been linked to pathogenesis and severity of several chronic inflammatory conditions. In this pilot study, we measured preoperative clinical outcomes and adiponectin expression in ethmoid tissues of Hispanic and non-Hispanic patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).

Methods: A prospective cohort study was performed on 18 Hispanic and 18 non-Hispanic, age and sex-matched CRS patients with nasal polyps, undergoing sinus surgery. Preoperative Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22), disease severity, and demographics were collected. A subset of 16 patients had sinonasal tissue, including additional non-CRS controls, collected during surgery. Adiponectin expression was measured using Simple Western assays and normalized to total protein. Descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney-U tests were performed.

Results: Each cohort had similar demographics, radiographic and endoscopic disease severity. Although the Hispanic cohort had greater preoperative SNOT-22 scores (p < 0.05), there was no significant difference in adiponectin expression between ethnicity cohorts (p < 0.05). Mean adiponectin expression was 2.4-fold higher in CRS ethmoid tissue than non-CRS controls, but the difference did not reach significance (p = 0.06).

Conclusions: Although similar between ethnicity cohorts, average adiponectin expression from CRS ethmoid tissue was higher than the non-CRS group, indicating a possible role for adiponectin in CRS pathophysiology. Further investigations with larger sample sizes are needed to understand the role of adiponectin in sinus disease as it may be a novel target for CRS.