title: Otitis media in a mouse model for Down syndrome.
abstract: The Ts65Dn mouse shares many phenotypic characteristics of human Down syndrome. Here, we report that otitis media, characterized by effusion in the middle ear and hearing loss, was prevalent in Ts65Dn mice. Of the 53 Ts65Dn mice tested, 81.1% had high auditory-evoked brainstem response (ABR) thresholds for at least one of the stimulus frequencies (click, 8 kHz, 16 kHz and 32 kHz), in at least one ear. The ABR thresholds were variable and showed no tendency toward increase with age, from 2 to 7 months of age. Observation of pathology in mice, aged 3-4 months, revealed middle ear effusion in 11 of 15 Ts65Dn mice examined, but only in two of 11 wild-type mice. The effusion in each mouse varied substantially in volume and inflammatory cell content. The middle ear mucosae were generally thickened and goblet cells were distributed with higher density in the epithelium of the middle ear cavity of Ts65Dn mice as compared with those of wild-type controls. Bacteria of pathogenic importance to humans also were identified in the Ts65Dn mice. This is the first report of otitis media in the Ts65Dn mouse as a model characteristic of human Down syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-HNS, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Fengchan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Heping
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Jiangping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Cong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Casey
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nava
authors.forename: Muriel T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Davisson
authors.forename: Qing Y
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D004432:Ear, Middle / Q000473:pathology; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D010034:Otitis Media with Effusion / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology; D014314:Trisomy