AUTHOR=Ma Weijun , Li Heng , Hu Juan , Gao Ying , Lv Hui , Zhang Xiaotong , Zhang Qing , Xu Min , Cheng Ying 

TITLE=Role of a novel mouse mutant of the Galnt2tm1Lat/tm1Lat gene in otitis media

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.1054704

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2022.1054704

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=Genetic susceptibility is one of the crucial causes of otitis media. Mutant Galnt2 homozygote (Galnt2 tm1Lat/tm1Lat) shows hearing loss with pathology mimicking human otitis media. Otitis media is characterized by effusion, mucosa proliferation and capillary expansion in the middle ear cavity, which was associated with hearing loss. By scanning electron microscope, the mucociliary impairment could be seen in middle ear cavity among patient harboring the disease that develops to severity with age. TNF-α, TGF-β1, Muc5ac and Muc5b upregulate their expressions in the middle ear, which correlates with inflammation, craniofacial development and mucin secretion. The mouse model with a mutation in the Galnt2 (Galnt2 tm1Lat/tm1Lat) has been explored in this study as a novel model of human otitis media.