Permeability of the Human Round-Window Membrane to Cationic Ferritin

An ultrastructural study was done in three sequential steps to determine if the human round-window membrane was permeable to macromolecules. Cationic ferritin was first placed for one hour in the round-window niche of two live rhesus monkeys. The same tracer was then placed in the same manner in two rhesus monkeys that had been dead for one hour. In both groups, cationic ferritin was observed to traverse the round-window membrane through pinocytotic vesicles into the scala tympani. After establishing that the transport capabilities of the round-window membrane of the monkey remained present one hour after death, cationic ferritin was placed for one hour in the round-window niche of two humans who had been dead for 30 minutes and one hour. The tracer was observed to traverse the round-window membrane through pinocytotic vesicles into the scala tympani in both humans. This report may be the first to document morphologically the permeability of human round-window membranes to macromolecules. (Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1988;114:1247-1251)