Animal Models of Otitis Media

Cho, Chang Gun

Abstract

Otitis media (OM) is one of the most common inflammatory illnesses in the pediatric population. OM is a multifactorial disease that develops as a result of complex interactions between bacterial infection, environmental risk factors, and host genetic factors. The high prevalence and recurrence of OM, coupled with the risk of developing hearing loss have meant that research to understand the mechanisms of OM and identify new therapeutic measures is urgent. Various experimental animals such as chinchilla, guinea pig, gerbil, rat and mouse have been used to investigate the pathogenesis and treatment of OM. Also, a lot of methods have been introduced to induce OM in animals including obstruction of E tube and direct injection of otopathogens into the middle ear. Recently there has been an increase in the use of the mouse for OM research due to the ability to easily manipulate their genetic components. The use of animal models has enabled researchers to identify a number of molecular mechanisms involved in the development of OM. Despite the real progresses obtained from animal models of OM, however, there are still several limitations to using them for OM research. In this review article, various animal models that have been introduced to investigate the pathogenesis of OM will be discussed briefly.