Interleukin-1 alpha, interleukin-1 beta and interleukin-8 gene expression in human aural cholesteatomas

Bone destruction is a common characteristic feature of chronic otitis media, especially aural cholesteatoma. A number of immunohistochemical studies have suggested that interleukin-1 (IL-1) may be responsible for cholesteatomatous bone destruction. We designed this study to present the mRNA expression patterns of IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, and IL-8, which can induce and activate the leukocyte, the major reservoir of potent proteolytic enzymes. Total RNAs were extracted from aural cholesteatomas, external auditory canal skin (EACS), postauricular skin (PAS), and granulation tissues and transcribed into cDNAs. cDNAs were amplified by using PCR technique with primers for IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-8, and beta-actin. Amplified products were hybridized with each internal probe and the relative density was measured. In granulation tissues, the relative density of IL-1 alpha was greater than that of other tissues. The ratio of IL-1 beta and IL-8 of aural cholesteatoma was significantly higher than that of EACS and PAS. We suggest that both of IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta may play a role in the pathological changes, and that IL-8, which is mainly produced from cholesteatomatous epithelium, may have an important role in the pathological changes of cholesteatomas.