Soluble adhesion molecules in middle ear effusions from patients with chronic otitis media with effusion.

Soluble forms of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) have been identified in the peripheral blood and other body fluids. These soluble adhesion molecules have been reported to reflect the upregulation of cell surface ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression in inflammatory diseases. The levels of soluble ICAM-1 and soluble VCAM-1 in 37 middle ear effusions from 37 patients with chronic otitis media with effusion (OME) were quantitatively determined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The levels of soluble ICAM-1 in mucoid effusions were significantly higher than those in serous effusions, but the levels of soluble VCAM-1 did not differ significantly between the two types of effusion. The levels of soluble VCAM-1 in effusions from atopic patients were significantly higher than those from non-atopic patients, whereas the levels of soluble ICAM-1 in samples from atopic patients were significantly lower than those from non-atopic patients. Therefore, our data suggest that an increase in soluble VCAM-1 plays a more important role in the pathogenesis of OME in atopic patients than in non-atopic patients. In addition, soluble ICAM-1 is likely to play a more important role in the pathogenesis of OME in nonatopic patients than soluble VCAM-1.