IL6 and infectious otitis media: First, AOM/DSS increased the protein expression level of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) p65 (Figure 4a), a central mediator in the induction of inflammatory damage [53] and subsequently increased the expression levels of NF-κB target genes [54], including IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α, inducible nitrous oxide (iNOS), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2), and IL-1β (Figure 4b–f).