The Correlation between Ciliary Ultrastructure and Ciliary Beat Frequency in Experimental Chronic Sinusitis

Ciliary ultrastructural abnormalities secondary to chronic sinusitis may cause abnormal mucociliary transport clearance. We examined the relationship between anatomic abnormalities of ciliary ultrastructure secondary to chronic sinusitis and ciliary beat frequency (CBF) before and after middle meatal antrostomy (MMA) in rabbits. Ultrastructural abnormalities of cilia included absence of axoneme membrane, blebs of the axoneme membrane, compound cilia, and ciliary orientation. Two groups of rabbits were studied: Uninfected (group A control, n = 3) and infected (group B, n = 10); 10(8) CFU S. pneumoniae were used to infect the animals in group B after sinus ostial occlusion and chronic sinusitis developed. After 6 weeks with infection, 6 of 10 group B animals underwent MMA and were restudied 6 weeks later. Uninfected animals had mean CBF = 11.75 Hz. Animals with chronic sinusitis had mean CBF = 8.5 Hz (p < 0.05). Six weeks after MMA, mean CBF = 11.82 Hz. This was not different from control. There were significant changes in ciliary ultrastructure when uninfected and infected rabbits were compared. These changes were reversed with MMA. Changes in ciliary ultrastructure correlated significantly with changes in CBF for all animals. Abnormalities in ciliary ultrastructure may account for the abnormal mucociliary transport clearance seen in chronic sinusitis in rabbits.