title: Activation of the IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway in human middle ear cholesteatoma epithelium.
abstract: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is one of the most important cytokines which has been shown to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of cholesteatoma. In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (p-STAT3) in middle ear cholesteatoma epithelium in an effort to determine the role of IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway in the pathogenesis of cholesteatoma. Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the expression of IL-6 and p-STAT3 in 25 human middle ear cholesteatoma samples and 15 normal external auditory canal (EAC) epithelium specimens. We also analyzed the relation of IL-6 and p-STAT3 expression levels to the degree of bone destruction in cholesteatoma. We found that the expression of IL-6 and p-STAT3 were significantly higher in cholesteatoma epithelium than in normal EAC epithelium (p<0.05). In cholesteatoma epithelium, a significant positive association was observed between IL-6 and p-STAT3 expression (p<0.05). However, no significant relationships were observed between the degree of bone destruction and the levels of IL-6 and p-STAT3 expression (p>0.05). To conclude, our results support the concept that IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway is active and may play an important role in the mechanisms of epithelial hyper-proliferation responsible for cholesteatoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University Changsha, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University Changsha, China.
authors.forename: Shumin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University Changsha, China.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Xingwang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University Changsha, China.
authors.forename: Hongmiao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University Changsha, China.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University Changsha, China.
authors.forename: Tuanfang
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy, University of South China Hengyang, China.
authors.forename: Yuyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University Changsha, China.
authors.forename: Jihao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ren
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D018424:Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004429:Ear Ossicles / Q000473:pathology; D004432:Ear, Middle / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000032:analysis*; D053612:Janus Kinases / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D010766:Phosphorylation; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor / Q000032:analysis*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: C508600:IL6 protein, human; D015850:Interleukin-6; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; C494086:STAT3 protein, human; D053612:Janus Kinases
keywords: Cholesteatoma; IL-6; STAT3