Jecker P, Pabst R, Westermann J
Centre of Anatomy, Medical School of Hannover, Germany.
Acta Otolaryngol. 1996 May;116(3):443-50. doi: 10.3109/00016489609137871.
To gain a better understanding of immune reactions during otitis media, the middle ear and Eustachian tube mucosa were studied as a unit in young rats with respect to the composition of immunocompetent cells before and after middle ear infection via the tube. Using immunohistology, the distribution of NK cells, important for the defence against viral antigens, and of dendritic cells, known to be most capable of antigen uptake, processing and presentation, was determined. Furthermore, the composition of cells of the unspecific immune system (i.e. granulocytes and macrophages) and the specific immune system (i.e. T and B lymphocytes) was studied. Macrophages and dendritic cells were spread over the whole middle ear mucosa, whereas only few NK cells and T and B lymphocytes and almost no granulocytes were detected. In the Eustachian tube mucosa, immunocompetent cells, with the exception of dendritic cells and macrophages, were only rarely seen. After induction of otitis media by severing the soft palate, immunocompetent cells increased in both the middle ear and Eustachian tube mucosa, but surprisingly they were almost absent from the area of the tubal orifice to the middle ear. The results indicate that immune reactions take place similarly in the Eustachian tube and in the middle ear mucosa.
为了更好地了解中耳炎期间的免疫反应，将幼鼠的中耳和咽鼓管黏膜作为一个整体进行研究，观察经咽鼓管中耳感染前后免疫活性细胞的组成。采用免疫组织学方法，确定了对防御病毒抗原很重要的自然杀伤（NK）细胞以及已知最能摄取、处理和呈递抗原的树突状细胞的分布。此外，还研究了非特异性免疫系统细胞（即粒细胞和巨噬细胞）和特异性免疫系统细胞（即T淋巴细胞和B淋巴细胞）的组成。巨噬细胞和树突状细胞分布于整个中耳黏膜，而仅检测到少量NK细胞、T淋巴细胞和B淋巴细胞，几乎未检测到粒细胞。在咽鼓管黏膜中，除树突状细胞和巨噬细胞外，很少见到免疫活性细胞。通过切断软腭诱发中耳炎后，中耳和咽鼓管黏膜中的免疫活性细胞均增加，但令人惊讶的是，从咽鼓管口到中耳的区域几乎没有免疫活性细胞。结果表明，咽鼓管和中耳黏膜中的免疫反应相似。
