Results
Treg/Th17 imbalance was found in peripheral blood and middle
ear of OME patients (PC group)
We collected middle ear effusion from 14 OME patients (PC) with
underlying allergic disease and peripheral blood from 14 healthy
volunteers (NC). The concentrations of TGF- /IL-10 and Th17 marker
cytokine IL-17/IL-6 in serum were measured by ELISA. Compared with NC
group, the level of IL-6 (IL-6:18.79±3.35 vs. 23.59±.57 pg/ml) and IL-17
(IL-17:7.62±1.96 vs.1.51±0.47 pg/ml) in PC group was significantly
higher (P<0.001); However, level of IL-10 (1.63±0.38 vs. 3.93±0.43pg
/ml) and TGF- (17.94±3.01 vs.62.04±2.65pg/ml) was decreased in PC group
(P<0.001). The levels of IL-6(45.95±5.18 vs.18.79±3.35) and
IL-17(18.61±1.21 vs.7.62±1.96) in PC group were significantly higher
than that of the peripheral serum. In PC group, the levels of cytokines
IL-10 (0.48±0.41 vs.1.62±0.38) and TGF-β (7.43±1.81 vs.17.94±3.01) were
decreased (P<0.001). The above results suggest that the
pathogenesis of OME is not only the local allergy of the middle ear, but
also the systemic allergy. The abnormal immune response affects the
differentiation direction of T cells, resulting in imbalance of
Treg/Th17 and finally the local stimulation in the middle ear, which may
be one of the causes of OME.