Expression of CYLD and NF-κB in Human Cholesteatoma Epithelium

The tumor suppressor CYLD is a deubiquitinating enzyme that inhibits activation of the NF- κ B, which has key roles in inflammation and apoptosis. We hypothesized that CYLD may regulate the NF- κ B signaling pathway in cholesteatoma. We conducted immunohistochemistry to examine the expression of CYLD and NF- κ B in 16 cases of cholesteatoma and paired cases of retroauricular (RA) skin. In cholesteatoma epithelium, activated NF- κ B expression was significantly higher than in RA skin, whereas CYLD expression was significantly lower in cholesteatoma epithelium than in RA skin ( P < .05). Furthermore, a significant inverse correlation was detected between CYLD and activated NF- κ B expression in cholesteatoma epithelium ( r = −0.630). We found that CYLD reduced and activated increased NF- κ B in cholesteatoma epithelium in comparison to RA skin. The inverse correlation between CYLD and activated NF- κ B in cholesteatoma may be involved in cholesteatoma epithelial hyperplasia.