Localization of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae endotoxin in the middle and inner ear during experimental otitis media.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) lipooligosaccharide, the major component of H. influenzae endotoxin, was localized in the middle and inner ear subsequent to the resolution of experimental otitis media induced by this pathogen. A monoclonal antibody specific for the lipooligosaccharide of this strain was used to probe sections of middle and inner ear tissue and visualized by means of the avidin-biotin peroxidase complex technique. Sixteen to seventeen days post inoculation with either viable or formalin-inactivated NTHi, endotoxin could be localized in both the middle and inner ear at a time when the middle ear was culture negative. Our data demonstrate that endotoxin shed by NTHi during otitis media penetrates the inner ear and binds to both tissue components and inflammatory cells in both the middle and inner ear.