Vitamin D plays an important role in the immune response against infection. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of vitamin D deficiency on the progression of otitis media (OM) using an experimental rat model.
Four-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats (
The middle ear mucosa from rats with vitamin D deficiency showed a significantly higher thickness than that of controls during the course of OM. The maximum mucosal thickness was 56.0±9.1 µm in the vitamin D deficiency group, and 43.9±9.8 µm in the control group, although there was no significant difference in the tympanic membrane score between the two groups evaluated with otomicroscopy. An immunohistochemical study showed increased expression of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α in rats manifesting vitamin D deficiency and decreased expression of IL-10 compared with controls.
Our results showed that vitamin D deficiency may exacerbate the pathophysiological changes of OM via altered cytokine production. Therefore, maintaining vitamin D status in the optimal range may be beneficial for proper management of OM.
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