IgA and Differentiation-associated Transcription Factors in Chronic Otitis Media with Effusion.
OBJECTIVE
Inadequate antibody responses to pathogens may lead to the recurrence of otitis media with effusion (OME). Although B-cell production by antibodies is controlled by transcription factors, the status of these factors has not been assessed in patients with OME.


METHODS
Expression of immunoglobulin was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Expression of transcription factors Bcl-6, Blimp-1, Pax-5, and XBP-1 was assessed by RT-PCR in the middle-ear fluid of 29 children with >4 OME episodes in 12 months or >3 episodes in 6 months (the OME-prone group) and in 32 children with <3 OME episodes in 12 months (OME group). The relationship between recurrence of OME and expression levels of immunoglobulins and transcription factors in middle-ear fluid was determined.


RESULTS
The concentration of IgA in middle-ear fluid was significantly lower in the OME-prone than in the OME group, as was the expression of mRNA encoding the transcription factors Blimp-1 and XBP-1 (P<0.05 each). Expression of mRNA encoding the transcription factors Bcl-6 and Pax-5 was more intense in the OME-prone than in the OME group, but these differences were not significant (P>0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Lower concentrations of IgA, Blimp-1 and XBP-1 in middle ear fluid of patients with OME may be related to OME recurrence and chronicity.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Il Ho
IH
Shin
Ok Young
OY
Shin
Sung-Ho
SH
Cha
Young Il
YI
Kim
Jin Woo
JW
Lee
Seung Geun
SG
Yeo