INTRODUCTION: This study aims to investigate the role of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in otitis media with effusion (OME) and to examine the MUC4, MUC5B mucin genes in the guinea pig middle ears to analyze the inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), interleukin (IL)-1beta (IL-1b), and IL-8.
METHODS: This study was conducted using eight guinea pigs. In the experimental group, H. pylori ATCC strain culture was injected transtympanically with microscopic guidance. The animals in the control group were injected with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution transtympanically. At 12, 24, 48, and 168 h after the injection, transtympanic PBS solution injection and aspiration of the middle ear were applied to all animals. After decapitation, the samples were taken.
RESULTS: In the histopathological examination, grading according to the degree of inflammation showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups (p>0.05). No statistically significant difference was determined in the analysis results of MUC4 and MUC5B genes in the middle ears of the two groups (p>0.05), the right and left ear values of IL-8, IL-1b, and TNF-a (p=0.999, p=0.610, and p=0.691, respectively).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Based on our study results, there was no relationship between H. pylori injection in the middle ear and the histopathological changes of the middle ear mucosa. The results of the analysis of MUC4, MUC5B genes, and the inflammatory cytokines did not support the cause-and-effect relationship between H. pylori and OME.