Expresion of Collagenase-3 (Matrix Metalloproteinase-13) in human middle ear cholesteatoma and granulation / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Middle ear cholesteatoma is notorious for its capacity to absorb surrounding bone, but the exact mechanism of bone destruction is not fully understood until now. Recently, a group of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) were found to dissolve extracellular matrices. Among them, collagenase-3 (MMP-13), a newly found collagenase, is thought to be a strong enzyme to dissolve bone and cartilage. So we tried to find out whether Collagenase-3 is found in cholesteatoma and plays some role in bone destruction by cholesteatoma. MATERIALS AND METHOD: We performed immunohistochemical stains on 5 cholesteatomas, 5 middle ear granulations, 5 normal middle ear mucosa and 5 deep meatal skin specimens with anticollagenase-3 antibody and analysed the staining patterns. RESULTS: All the cholesteatomas showed strong immunoreactivity with collagenase-3. Two out of 5 granulations showed somewhat weaker and more disseminated patterns of immunoreactivity, but the rest 3 granulations showed no immunoreactivity. Normal middle ear mucosa and deep meatal skin specimens showed no immunoreactivity at all. CONCLUSIONS: Collagenase-3 may play an active role in the process of bone destruction by cholesteatoma; however, a further study using zymography or blotting method is needed to make this clear.