Gammadelta T cell receptor repertoire in middle ear effusions in children

In order to elucidate the immune response in otitis media with effusion, polymerase chain reaction was employed to examine gammadelta T cell receptor repertoire in the middle ear effusions of patients with otitis media with effusion. RNAs were extracted from 13 middle ear effusions of 10 children with otitis media with effusion. Vgamma2 was the most frequently used Vgamma gene. As for Vdelta gene usage, Vdelta2 amplification gave the strongest signal in 10 out of 13 samples. The results suggest that gammadelta T cells bearing Vgamma2/Vdelta2 T cell receptors accumulate in the middle ear effusions in children, and that these T cells may respond to certain bacteria or bacterial products in the middle ear.