Gene Linked to Recurrent, Chronic Otitis Media

Mutations in gene also cause deafness in mice

WEDNESDAY, July 19 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have linked chronic otitis media with effusion and recurrent otitis media to polymorphisms in FBXO11, the human version of a gene known to cause deafness in mice when mutated. The study results can be found in the July issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery.

Donald W. Bowden, Ph.D., from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., and colleagues genotyped 13 single nucleotide polymorphisms spanning the FBXO11 genomic region in 619 subjects from families with multiple members affected by chronic otitis media with effusion/recurrent otitis media (COME/ROM).

One polymorphism was significantly associated with COME/ROM and two others approached significance. All associations were weaker in multivariate analyses, however. "The single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping data are consistent with the FBXO11 being contained in a single linkage disequilibrium haplotype block," they write.

Mutations in this gene are responsible for the novel mouse model of deafness, called jeff. While the authors believe the association between FBXO11 variations and COME/ROM are modest, their results support further analyses of the gene in other relevant populations.

Abstract
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