Epithelial abnormalities underpin the development of the middle ear disease, otitis media (OM). Until now, a well-characterized in vitro model of the middle ear (ME) epithelium that replicates the complex cellular composition of the middle ear has not been available. This chapter describes the development of a novel in vitro model of mouse middle ear epithelial cells (mMECs), cultured at the air-liquid interface (ALI). This system enables recapitulation of the characteristics of the native murine ME epithelium. We demonstrate that mMECs undergo differentiation into the varied cell populations seen within the native middle ear. Overall, our mMEC culture system can help better understand the cell biology of the middle ear and improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of OM. The model also has the potential to serve as a platform for validation of treatments designed to reverse aspects of epithelial remodeling underpinning OM development.
Keywords: Air-liquid interface (ALI); In vitro; Middle ear; Middle ear epithelial cells (mMECs); Otitis media.