ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal Cancers: Hepato Pancreatic Biliary Cancers
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1620917
Mechanism of NF-κB and TNF-α on Bone Destruction in Cholesteatomatous Otitis Media under Lightweight Deep Learning Model
Provisionally accepted
- 1Hebei Eye Hospital, Xingtai, China
- 2Hebei Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Xingtai, China
- 3Hebei Provincial Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases, Xingtai, China
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Background: Cholesteatoma otitis media (COM) is a common chronic acquired ear disease characterized by highly keratinized squamous epithelial hyperplasia in the middle ear cavity, accompanied by bone resorption and destruction in the surrounding area. NF -κ B and TNF -α play important roles in the inflammatory response and bone destruction process.Objective: This study aims to explore the roles of NF -κ B and TNF -α in the process of bone destruction induced by COM using an automated and interpretable lightweight deep learning model. Method: The study subjects were patients diagnosed with COM who underwent otolaryngology surgery, and all patients underwent computed tomography (CT) scans. A total of 58 COM patients were classified as the cholesteatoma group, and an additional 40 provided external auditory canal skin samples as the control group.Using hematoxylin eosin (HE) staining to compare COM tissue and EAC skin tissue, immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression levels of TNF -α and NF -κ B, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the levels of IL-1 and IL-6. Result: CT showed significant soft tissue masses in the mastoid area of patients with COM. HE staining indicates that COM tissue has unique matrix, adjacent matrix tissue, and cystic components. The expression levels of TNF -α and NF -κ B proteins in the cholesteatoma group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.01). As the degree of bone destruction increases, the protein levels of TNF -α and NF -κ B also correspondingly increase. In addition, the expression levels of IL-1 and IL-6 were significantly higher in tissues with grade II bone destruction than in tissues with grade I bone destruction (P<0.01), while the levels of IL-1 and IL-6 were even higher in tissues with grade III bone destruction (P<0.001). Conclusion: Studies have shown that IL-1, IL-6, TNF -α , and NF -κ B may participate in the bone destruction process in COM by regulating osteoclast activity. The expression levels of these factors are positively correlated with the degree of bone destruction, indicating that they play an important role in the mechanism of bone destruction related to COM.
Keywords: CT images, Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-κB), Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), Cholesteatomatous Otitis Media (COM), Chronic acquired ear disease
Received: 30 Apr 2025; Accepted: 07 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Geng, Liu, Fan, Zhang, Liu and He. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hongya Geng, Hebei Eye Hospital, Xingtai, China
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