The effects of oral steroid therapy on prolidase enzyme activity in patients with nasal polyps

Abstract

Objective: To compare prolidase enzyme activity (PEA) in serum and polyp specimens of patients with nasal polyps obtained before and after the oral steroid therapy. Materials and methods: Thirty three patients with nasal polyps (39 +/- 13 years) received 1 mg/kg of oral steroids. Serum samples were collected from each patient, but nasal polyp specimens could be obtained only from 23 patients (38 +/- 13 years) before and after the oral steroid therapy. PEA was measured by ELISA method. Results: Serum PEA values were 210 (176-242) U/L and 184 (147-217) U/L before and after the oral steroid therapy, respectively (p = 0.015). Polyp tissue PEA was 1337 (738-2130) U/g and 871 (590-1663) U/g before and after the oral steroid therapy, respectively (p = 0.429). Conclusion: In patients with nasal polyps, significantly lower serum PEA after the oral steroid therapy may be a consequence of the role of prolidase enzyme in inflammatory processes which are important for the development of nasal polyps. More comprehensive studies with larger sample sizes are needed to elucidate the role of PEA in the pathogenesis of nasal polyps.