Differential angiogenic induction impacts nasal polyp tissue growth

Abstract Background: In chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, inflammatory edema drives tissue remodeling favoring anomalous growth of the nasal mucosa, but a proangiogenic contribution of nasal polyp in support of tissue growth is still controversial. The chorioallantoic membrane of chicken embryo model was employed to address the potentiality of nasal tissue fragments to modulate angiogenesis.Methods: Fifty-seven fertilized eggs were implanted with polyp or healthy nasal mucosa tissue or were kept as non-implanted controls. The embryos' size, length, and development stage, and chorioallantoic membrane vasculature morphology were evaluated after 48h. Quantitative computer vision techniques applied to digital chorioallantoic membrane images automatically calculated the branching index as the ratio between the areas of the convex polygon surrounding the vascular tree and the vessels’ area. Results: Mucosal, but not polyp tissue implants, hampered embryo development and induced underdeveloped chorioallantoic membranes with anastomosed, interrupted, and regressive vessels. Vessels’ areas and branching indexes were higher among the chorioallantoic membranes with polyp implants and controls than among those with healthy mucosa implants. Discuss: This study demonstrated for the first time a differential angiogenic induction from nasal polyp tissue supporting tissue growth when compared with healthy nasal mucosa.Conclusion: Nasal polyp presents differential angiogenic induction that impacts tissue growth.