Abstract:
Objectives; to investigate the expression of b-FGF in the matrix of human acquired cholesteatoma compared to the deep meatal skin. To our knowledge, this topic has not been fully investigated before.
Materials and methods; an immunochemical study was employed. Cholesteatoma tissues from adult patients were collected during surgery (n=19). Control specimens were taken from the deep meatal skin (n=8) and compared.
Results; A highly significant difference in b-FGF expression was identified between cholesteatoma and skin (Mean ± SE= 58.53% ± 3.6 in cholesteatoma versus 40.6% ± 3.5 in skin; p= 0.005).
Both basal/parabasal keratinocytes were stained positive with b-FGF. Additionally, there was specific staining in the basal columnar middle ear epithelium and mast cell membrane.
Conclusions; b-FGF plays an active role in proliferative activity of cholesteatoma through its overexpression in basal/parabasal layers of cholesteatoma matrix. Moreover, its expression in mast cell membrane adds to its role in bone resorption activity.