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Updated: Jul 19, 2026
Construction and Characterization of a Novel Vocal Fold Bioreactor
Published on: August 1, 2014
Expression and distribution of CD44 and hyaluronic acid in human vocal fold mucosa
Kiminori Sato1, Kikuo Sakamoto, Tadashi Nakashima
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
Objectives:
Expression of CD44 (a cell surface receptor for hyaluronic acid) and the distribution of hyaluronic acid were examined in the human vocal fold mucosa.
Methods:
Light microscopic investigation was carried out on 10 normal larynges of newborn, infant, younger adult, and older adults with Alcian blue staining, a hyaluronidase digestion study, and immunohistochemistry for CD44.
Results:
Before the appearance of hyaluronic acid in the newborn vocal fold mucosa, CD44 was expressed on the stellate cells in the macula flava and on the fibroblasts in Reinke's space. During infancy, hyaluronic acid appeared and was distributed in the vocal fold mucosa. Many more stellate cells in the macula flava showed CD44 expression, and a large amount of hyaluronic acid was present around the infant stellate cells; however, the fibroblasts in Reinke's space expressed little CD44. During adulthood, hyaluronic acid was distributed in the vocal fold mucosa. Almost all of the stellate cells in the macula flava showed CD44 expression, and much hyaluronic acid existed around the stellate cells in the adult macula flava. However, fibroblasts in the adult Reinke's space expressed little CD44, and hyaluronic acid density in that space was lower than that in the macula flava.
Conclusions:
Stellate cells in the macula flava and CD44 cooperatively play important roles in maintaining hyaluronic acid in the human vocal fold mucosa as a vibrating tissue.
