Middle ear cavitation and mesenchymal clearance: links with deafness and otitis media

作为人类五种感官之一，听觉不仅具有重要的生物学功能，而且对我们融入社会也至关重要。在世界范围内，儿童轻度至中度听力障碍的主要原因是慢性中耳炎（中耳炎）。在英国，每年约有20万儿童患有反复中耳炎。在发达国家，植入通气管以治疗中耳炎是儿童手术的最常见原因，并且是医疗保健服务的重大负担。考虑到受影响的人数，以及慢性OM的衰弱性质，更好地了解可能影响OM发作的因素至关重要。中耳间质的异常存在已被证明与慢性中耳炎病例密切相关。在正常的耳朵发育过程中，间充质组织从中耳丢失，形成一个充满空气的空腔。在这项资助中，我们希望以小鼠为模型，研究为什么间充质仍然存在于一些儿童的耳朵中。我们将研究中耳腔通常是如何形成的，在间充质未被移除的情况下会出现什么问题，然后尝试纠正这种缺陷。这项工作将有助于我们了解中耳疾病，并旨在开创新的方法来治疗问题。

As one of the five human senses, hearing not only has critical biological function, but is also crucially important for our integration within society. Worldwide the main cause of mild to moderate hearing impairment in children is chronic middle ear inflammation (otitis media). In the UK around 200,000 children suffer from repeated middle ear infections each year. In the developed world, implantation of ventilation tubes to combat otitis media is the most common reason for surgery in children and is a substantial burden on the healthcare services. Given the number of individuals affected, and the debilitating nature of chronic OM, it is vital that a better understanding of the factors that can influence the onset of OM are addressed. The abnormal presence of mesenchyme in the middle ear has been shown to be closely linked with chronic cases of otitis media. During normal ear development mesenchymal tissue is lost from the middle ear to create an air-filled cavity. In this grant we wish to study why mesenchyme remains in the ears of some children, using the mouse as a model. We will investigate how the middle ear cavity normally forms, what goes wrong in cases where the mesenchyme is not removed, and will then try and correct this defect. This work will help our understanding of middle ear disease, and aims to initiate new methods to treat problems.