Figure 2

Rapamycin modulates the relative levels of T-bet, GATA-3, Foxp3, and RORγt mRNA in cultured nasal polyps, as determined by real time RT-PCR. Rapamycin stimulation has been shown to be associated with the expression of Foxp3 mRNA in nasal polyps. Elevated T-bet and GATA-3 mRNA and decreased Foxp3 mRNA were observed in nasal polyps (* P < 0.05 by the unpaired t-test for intergroup comparison) (A-C). After treatment with rapamycin, Foxp3 mRNA increased significantly in nasal polyps as well as in controls (5.5-fold and 2.7-fold, respectively) (**P < 0.05 by the paired t-test for intragroup comparison), whereas T-bet and GATA-3 mRNAs decreased significantly in nasal polyps (42% and 56%, respectively) (**P < 0.05 by paired t-test intra-group comparison). No significant changes in RORγt gene expression were found by multiple comparisons (D) (P > 0.0125 by the ANOVA test and Bonferroni correction).