CELL-BIOLOGICAL AND GRAPHIC STUDIES OF GROWTH DISTURBANCE AND SCLEROTIC CHANGE OF MASTOID AIR CELLS

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To examine the presence or absence of apoptotic participation in the process of normal development of the mastoid pneumatization in human, we performed immunohistochemical examinations of the tissue cells in the mastoid pneumatized bones harvested from 26 patients without history or signs of otitis media, who underwent mastoid surgery in our department clinic. We used the TdT-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL)method for observing apoptosis cells, which revealed TUNEL positive cells in 13 of 26 cases, and these cells were found in 84.6% of children under the age of 5,being significantly greater number than in those older than 6 years of age. Furthermore, in a sample from a child with otitis media, TUNEL positive cell was not observed. These results can be interpreted as having a good correlation between the presence or absence of TUNEL positive cells and growth of mastoid pneumatization, and indicated that apoptosis might contribute to the normal growth of mastoid pneumatization. By identifying those TUNEL positive cells and by examining cytokines related to those cells, the cell biological mechanisms of growth of pneumatization and thus the mechanism and protective measures of its inhibition.