Cyclooxygenase 2 expression in otitis media with effusion.
OBJECTIVE
To study whether cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) plays a role in the development of otitis media with effusion (OME).


METHODS
An experimental model of endotoxin-induced OME was used in healthy BALB/c mice. Solutions of Salmonella typhimurium endotoxin were injected into the middle ears of the mice, and COX-2 expression in the middle ears was studied using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and in situ hybridization (ISH).


RESULTS
Analysis by RT-PCR showed that COX-2 expression in the middle ear increased in a dose-dependent fashion after injection of endotoxin. ISH demonstrated that COX-2 had distinct expression patterns in the epithelium of middle ears with endotoxin-induced OME. COX-2 expression, however, was not detected in normal middle ears.


CONCLUSIONS
COX-2 expression may be one factor contributing to the development of OME.
Kakiuchi
Masashi
M
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry, Okayama, Japan.
Tsujigiwa
Hidetsugu
H
Orita
Yorihisa
Y
Nagatsuka
Hitoshi
H
Yoshinobu
Junko
J
Kariya
Shin
S
Haginomori
Shin-ichi
S
Orita
Saeko
S
Fukushima
Kunihiro
K
Okano
Mitsuhiro
M
Nagai
Noriyuki
N
Nishizaki
Kazunori
K
D000818:Animals; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D004432:Ear, Middle / Q000378:metabolism; D004731:Endotoxins; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010034:Otitis Media with Effusion / Q000201:enzymology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015854:Up-Regulation
D004731:Endotoxins; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2