Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 17, 2025
Author Spotlight: Advancing Endoscopic Ossiculoplasty – Techniques, Innovations, and Practical Guidance for Clinical Integration
Published on: January 26, 2024
Periostin in middle ear mucosa according to eosinophilic otitis media severity: Middle ear pathology-based treatment
Yoshihiko Esu1, Maria Masuda1, Naohiro Yoshida1
1Department of Otolaryngology, Jichi Medical University Saitama Medical Center, 1-847 Amanuma, Saitama 330-8503, Japan.
Objective:
Eosinophilic otitis media (EOM) is an intractable disorder associated with bronchial asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis. Periostin is an extracellular matrix protein secreted by fibroblasts in response to interleukin (IL)-4 and/or IL-13 and is a known marker for eosinophilic disorders. We assessed serum periostin levels and expression of periostin in the middle ear mucosa according to three grade of EOM severity (grade1 to 3).
Methods:
68 patients of blood and serum samples were corrected by whom diagnose bilateral EOM in Jichi Medical University Saitama Medical Center from January 2015 to June 2017.Immunohistochemical evaluation was performed to 18 EOM middle ears mucosa samples, which cauterized in tree groups and compared to that of chronic otitis media (COM).
Results:
Serum periostin levels was significantly higher in EOM patients than in COM patients (EOM, 125.0 ± 45.5 ng/mL; COM, 79.4 ± 38.3 ng/mL; P<0.0001). The expression of periostin immunopositivity in the EOM middle ear mucosa was significantly greater in severe cases (grade3 samples) than others (grade1 and grade2 samples) (P <0.001 and P = 0.011, respectively). Periostin was expressed at the lamina propria especially in severe EOM cases and the cases had little response to glucocorticoids treatment.
Conclusion:
This study showed that periostin in the middle ear mucosa was correlated with EOM severity, and EOM with highly expressed periostin had difficulty in glucocorticoids treatment.
Insights
Periostin, a marker for eosinophilic disorders, is elevated in patients with eosinophilic otitis media (EOM). Higher periostin levels in middle ear mucosa correlate with EOM severity and poor response to glucocorticoids.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Immunology
- Otolaryngology
Background:
- Eosinophilic otitis media (EOM) is a challenging condition often linked to asthma and nasal polyposis.
- Periostin, an extracellular matrix protein, is a known biomarker for eosinophilic conditions, induced by IL-4/IL-13.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate serum periostin levels in EOM patients.
- To assess the correlation between periostin expression in middle ear mucosa and EOM severity.
- To investigate the relationship between periostin expression and treatment response.
Main Methods:
- Serum samples from 68 EOM patients and controls were analyzed.
- Immunohistochemical analysis of periostin expression in middle ear mucosa from 18 EOM patients (graded 1-3) and chronic otitis media (COM) controls.
Main Results:
- Serum periostin levels were significantly higher in EOM patients compared to COM patients (125.0 ± 45.5 ng/mL vs. 79.4 ± 38.3 ng/mL, P<0.0001).
- Periostin expression in middle ear mucosa was significantly greater in severe EOM (grade 3) than in milder cases (grade 1 and 2).
- High periostin expression was observed in the lamina propria of severe EOM cases, which showed limited response to glucocorticoids.
Conclusions:
- Middle ear mucosal periostin levels correlate with EOM severity.
- EOM cases with high periostin expression exhibit resistance to glucocorticoids treatment.
