Clin Exp Otorhinolaryngol.  2011 Jun;4(2):67-71.

Expression of EGFR and Microvessel Density in Middle Ear Cholesteatoma

• Jin BJ
• Min HJ
• Jeong JH
• Park CW
• Lee SH

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Cholesteatoma destructs bony tissue by the interactions between hyperproliferative epithelial cells and subepithelial inflammatory cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and microvessel density (MVD) in middle ear cholesteatoma tissue in an effort to determine the relationship between expression of EGFR and neovascularization.
METHODS
We evaluated the expression of EGFR and MVD by immunohistochemical staining for CD31 and Factor VIII in 32 cholesteatoma tissue samples and 7 normal postauricular skin samples. We also analyzed the correlation between EGFR expression and MVD.
RESULTS
The expression of EGFR was higher in cholesteatoma than in postauricular skin, but the difference was not statistically significant. EGFR was more highly expressed in the suprabasal layer than in the basal layer. Using CD31 and Factor VIII, we analyzed the MVD and found that it was significantly higher in cholesteatoma than in postauricular skin, and significantly correlated with the expression of EGFR.
CONCLUSION
Our results suggest that overexpression of EGFR and neovascularization are correlated with the growth of cholesteatoma.

Keyword

Epidermal growth factor receptor; Microvessel density; CD31; Factor VIII; Cholesteatoma

MeSH Terms

Cholesteatoma
Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear
Ear, Middle
Epithelial Cells
Factor VIII
Microvessels
Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor
Skin
Factor VIII
Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Immunohistochemical demonstration of epidermal growth factor receptor in cholesteatoma (×400). Negative (A), weakly positive (B), moderately positive (C) and strongly positive (D) findings.

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  Fig. 2 Immunohistochemical demonstration of microvessel density using anti-CD31 antibody in a cholesteatoma (A) and postauricular skin (B) (×200). Cholesteatoma tissue shows high microvessel density, but postauricular skin shows low microvessel density.

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  Fig. 3 Immunohistochemical demonstration of microvessel density using anti-Factor VIII antibody in a cholesteatoma (A) and postauricular skin (B) (×200). Cholesteatoma tissue shows high microvessel density, but postauricular skin shows low microvessel density.

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  Fig. 4 Correlation between CD31 and Factor VIII. A positive correlation between CD31 and Factor VIII was identified. The correlation efficient was 0.814 (by Spearman correlation test) with a P<0.001.

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