Psoriasin (S100A7), an antimicrobial peptide, is increased in human middle ear cholesteatoma

The association between sinonasal anatomical variants and the laterality of orbital complications in pediatric acute rhinosinusitis

INTRODUCTION

As the role of sinonasal anatomical variants as predisposing factors in determining the lateralization of acute rhinosinusitis-related orbital complications (ARS-OC) in pediatrics remains a topic of debate, this study further explores the potential association between anatomical variations and ARS-OC.

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted on children who had been admitted with ARS-OC using medical records and sinus CT scans to compare anatomical differences between the affected and contralateral sides. This study aimed to identify bony anatomical disparities that may impact OC laterality secondary to ARS. The anatomical features examined included septal deviation, concha bullosa, lamina papyracea dehiscence (LPD), and uncinate process abnormalities.

RESULTS

The CT scans of 57 pediatric patients (114 sides) were reviewed. Our results indicated that bony anatomical variations were associated with ARS-OC laterality (63 % vs. 37 %, P = 0.006), yielding an odds ratio of 2.91. Additionally, our study revealed a significant association between ipsilateral LPD with the increased risk of ARS-OC (39 % vs. 1.8 %, P < 0.05), with an odds ratio of 34.3 compared to the opposite side.

CONCLUSIONS

LPD might play a role in the pathophysiology of pediatric ARS-OC, as it is associated with a significantly higher risk of affecting the ipsilateral side. Further research is necessary to determine whether LPD is a causative factor or a result of ARS.

A comparative study of paranasal sinus and nasal cavity anatomic variations between the Polish and Turkish Cypriot Population with CBCT

Background

Genetic and environmental factors especially climatic conditions are thought to influence the shape and size of the paranasal sinuses and anatomic variations may create both a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. However, no study has been published about the climatic adaptation of the paranasal sinus region in different populations. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of anatomical variants in the paranasal sinus and nasal cavity using Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) between Polish and Turkish Cypriot populations.

Methods

The material consisted of volumes acquired utilizing Galileos (Sirona, Germany) as well as Newtom 3G (QR Verona, Newtom, Italy) CBCT units. There were examined 356 Polish and 359 Turkish Cypriot patients in whom paranasal sinuses were included in the field of view. Paranasal sinus anatomic variations were assessed in both populations.

Results

In the Polish population, the most common anatomic variation was septum deviation followed by the Agger nasi cell and concha bullosa with a prevalence of 87.7%, 83.2%, and 54.8% respectively. For the Turkish Cypriot population, the most common anatomic variation was Agger nasi cell followed by concha bullosa and supraorbital ethmoid cells with a prevalence of 81.6%, 68%, and 57.8% respectively. Many anatomic variations were found to show substantial differences among both populations. Incidence rates of hyperpneumatization of the frontal sinus, septum pneumatization, supraorbital ethmoid cells, concha bullosa, uncinate bulla, and internal carotid artery protrusion into the sphenoid sinus were significantly higher in the Turkish Cypriot group, while the incidence of Haller cell, frontal sinus hypoplasia, maxillary sinus hypoplasia, ethmomaxillary sinus, sphenomaxillary plate, and septum deviation were significantly higher in Polish population.

Conclusion

According to the Köppen-Geiger world climatic map, the climate is warmer and drier in Turkish Cypriote populations than in the Polish population. These climatic differences influence the paranasal sinus variations between the Turkish Cypriot and Polish populations that must be taken into account by rhinologic surgeons especially when performing frontal and sphenoid sinus surgery.

Large-scale proteomics differentiates cholesteatoma from surrounding tissues and identifies novel proteins related to the pathogenesis

Cholesteatoma is the growth of keratinizing squamous epithelium in the middle ear. It is associated with severe complications and has a poorly understood etiopathogenesis. Here, we present the results from extensive bioinformatics analyses of the first large-scale proteomic investigation of cholesteatoma. The purpose of this study was to take an unbiased approach to identifying alterations in protein expression and in biological processes, in order to explain the characteristic phenotype of this skin-derived tumor. Five different human tissue types (cholesteatoma, neck of cholesteatoma, tympanic membrane, external auditory canal skin, and middle ear mucosa) were analyzed. More than 2,400 unique proteins were identified using nanoLC-MS/MS based proteomics (data deposited to the ProteomeXchange), and 295 proteins were found to be differentially regulated in cholesteatoma. Validation analyses were performed by SRM mass spectrometry. Proteins found to be up- or down-regulated in cholesteatoma were analyzed using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis and clustered into functional groups, for which activation state and associations to disease processes were predicted. Cholesteatoma contained high levels of pro-inflammatory S100 proteins, such as S100A7A and S100A7. Several proteases, such as ELANE, were up-regulated, whereas extracellular matrix proteins, such as COL18A1 and NID2, were under-represented. This may lead to alterations in integrity and differentiation of the tissue (as suggested by the up-regulation of KRT4 in the cholesteatoma). The presented data on the differential protein composition in cholesteatoma corroborate previous studies, highlight novel protein functionalities involved in the pathogenesis, and identify new areas for targeted research that hold therapeutic potential for the disease.

Development and characterization of a mouse monoclonal antibody against antimicrobial peptide tachyplesin I

Monoclonal antibodies against tachyplesin I (TP I) were developed to study its mechanisms of activity, a kind of cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), in vivo or in vitro, and to purify TP I from expression products. The synthesized TP I was chemically conjugated with the carrier protein BSA and then injected into BALB/c mice. Positive hybridomas were screened by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using TP I and subcloned three times with limiting dilution. Five MAbs effective in detecting the native TP I (named 2D8, 3B8, 5H2, 6B12, and 8F5) were obtained. Isotyping of all obtained MAbs indicated that MAbs 2D8, 3B8, 5H2, and 8F5 belong to IgG1, and MAb 6B12 belongs to IgG2a. Specificity assay showed that MAb 8F5 had almost the same level of specificity to natural TP I, recombinant TP I, and synthesized TP I and TP II, but did not cross-react with control peptides. These results suggest that the synthetic AMP conjugates can elicit antibodies against native AMPs and can be used to detect antimicrobial peptides.

A unique case of multiple sites of pneumatization of the sinonasal bony framework in a pediatric patient

Anatomic variations of the sinonasal bony framework in the pediatric population are quite common. In children with such variations, however, bony pneumatization is uncommon. Moreover, pneumatization of the inferior turbinate in children is extremely rare; to the best of our knowledge, only 3 cases have been previously reported in the literature-none of which involved additional pneumatization variations of the sinonasal skeleton. Herein we present a new pediatric case that was unique in that an inferior concha bullosa coexisted with rarely seen pneumatized anatomic structures.