1. Technical Field
This document relates to methods and materials involved in fungus-induced inflammation and eosinophil degranulation. For example, this document relates to isolated nucleic acids encoding fungal polypeptides, fungal polypeptides, methods for assessing fungus-induced inflammation, methods for assessing eosinophil degranulation, and methods for identifying inhibitors of fungus-induced inflammation and/or eosinophil degranulation.
2. Background Information
The National Center for Health Statistics describes the increasingly expensive health care burden that chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) inflicts in the United States. With an estimated 18 to 22 million cases and at least 30 million courses of antibiotics per year, CRS is one of the predominant chronic diseases in the U.S. In 1996, there were 26.7 million visits to physicians, hospital offices, and emergency departments for sinusitis—at a total cost of $5.8 billion. Sinusitis significantly impacts quality of life, even when compared to typical chronic debilitating diseases, such as diabetes and congestive heart failure. CRS presents a challenge to various medical specialties, including infectious diseases, ear, nose, and throat (ENT), allergy, asthma, and clinical immunology. The FDA has not approved any medication for effective use in CRS. Many antibiotic treatments are prescribed without objective evidence of infection. Roughly 40,000 patients per year undergo sinus surgery, but controlled evidence about the surgical outcomes is lacking. Even with aggressive medical and surgical therapies, many patients have persistent or recurrent disease, leading to frequent courses of antibiotics and multiple surgical interventions.