Epidermal growth factor expression in middle ear cholesteatoma.
Middle ear cholesteatoma is destructive to auditory ossicles and temporal bone, and treatment usually requires surgical removal of all epithelial content. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) can stimulate the growth and differentiation of a variety of mammalian cells, including epithelial cells. Our study used the avidin-biotin complex technique to evaluate the expression of EGF in 40 cases of middle ear cholesteatoma (active cholesteatoma, 31 cases; inactive cholesteatoma, 9 cases) and 34 normal postauricular skin samples. In middle ear cholesteatoma, EGF was expressed in squamous epithelium in 21 cases (53%), fibroblasts in two cases (5%), and cholesteatoma endothelium in two cases (5%). In normal postauricular skin, EGF was expressed in squamous epithelium in 14 samples (41%), fibroblasts in one sample (3%), and endothelium in none. No statistical difference in EGF expression was found between cholesteatoma and normal postauricular skin samples. These results show that the distribution of EGF in middle ear cholesteatoma is not deranged and that the progression of cholesteatoma might be induced by the release of factors from the cholesteatoma matrix via autocrine stimulation, or by inflammatory cells of the subepithelial tissue through paracrine stimulation, or in both of these ways.
Chi
Hung-Pin
HP
Department of Otolaryngology, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Ho
Kuen-Yao
KY
Chai
Chee-Yin
CY
Ta
Chih-Feng
CF
Wang
Ling-Feng
LF
Lee
Ka-Wo
KW
Kuo
Wen-Rei
WR
Wu
Shu-Chuan
SC
Tsai
Shin-Meng
SM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018424:Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D004727:Endothelium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000032:analysis*; D004848:Epithelium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged
D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor