Effects of intranasal challenge with histamine, bradykinin and prostaglandin on middle ear pressure and blood flow in cynomolgus monkeys

Previous studies documented a significant increase in middle ear pressure following intranasal challenges with ascaris antigen or histamine in sensitized cynomolgus monkeys. To confirm that effects and investigate the mechanism, 4 monkeys were intranasally challenged at separate sessions with histamine (10 mg), bradykinin (1, 10 mg) and prostaglandin D2 (PgD2, 0.5, 1.0 mg) and followed for 90 min. Before and after challenge, middle ear pressure, mucosal blood flow, heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and the partial pressures of O2 and CO2 in the venous blood were measured. The results showed that while bradykinin challenge had no effect on these measures, PgD2 provoked increased middle ear pressure, and histamine resulted in a biphasic pattern of increasing pressures followed by decreasing pressures. The pattern of change in middle ear pressure after histamine challenge was explicable by a mechanism involving transmucosal gas exchange, while that for PgD2 was related to increased mucosal inflammation. These results document the development of positive middle ear pressures during provoked nasal inflammation and may have relevance to similar observations in the clinical setting.