Role of the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 in the pathogenesis of the otitis media with effusion.

Inflammation in the middle ear mucosa, caused usually by bacterial and viral pathogens, is the primary event in the middle ear predisposing the development of otitis media with effusion (OME). Numerous inflammatory mediators have been identified in OME. However, cytokines play a central role as initiators, mediators and regulators of middle ear inflammation and subsequent molecular-pathological processes in middle ear tissues, leading to histopathological changes in the middle ear cavity and the pathogenesis of OME.