Over the past two decades considerable progress has been made in understanding the ototoxic effects and mechanisms underlying loop diuretics. As typical representative of loop diuretics ethacrynic acid or furosemide o...Over the past two decades considerable progress has been made in understanding the ototoxic effects and mechanisms underlying loop diuretics. As typical representative of loop diuretics ethacrynic acid or furosemide only induces temporary hearing loss, but rarely permanent deafness unless applied in severe acute or chronic renal failure or with other ototoxic drugs. Loop diuretic induce unique pathological changes in the cochlea such as formation of edematous spaces in the epithelium of the stria vascularis, which leads to rapid decrease of the endolymphatic potential and eventual loss of the cochlear microphonic potential, summating potential, and compound action potential. Loop diuretics interfere with strial adenylate cyclase and Nat/Kt-ATPase and inhibit the Na-K-2Cl cotransporter in the stria vascularis, however recent reports indicate that one of the earliest effects in vivo is to abolish blood flow in the vessels supplying the lateral wall. Since ethacrynic acid does not damage the stria vascularis in vitro, the changes in Nat/Kt-ATPase and Na-K-2Cl seen in vivo may be secondary effects results from strial ischemia and anoxia. Recent observations showing that renin is present in pericytes surrounding stria arterioles suggest that diuretics may induce local vasoconstriction by renin secretion and angiotensin formation. The tight junctions in the blood-cochlea barrier prevent toxic molecules and pathogens from entering cochlea, but when diuretics induce a transient ischemia, the barrier is temporarily disrupted allowing the entry of toxic chemicals or pathogens.展开更多
Cisplatin, a widely used anticancer drug, damages hair cells in cochlear organotypic cultures at low doses, but paradoxically causes little damage at high doses resulting in a U-shaped dose-response function. To deter...Cisplatin, a widely used anticancer drug, damages hair cells in cochlear organotypic cultures at low doses, but paradoxically causes little damage at high doses resulting in a U-shaped dose-response function. To determine if the cisplatin dose-response function for vestibular hair cells follows a similar pattern, we treated vestibular organotypic cultures with doses of cisplatin ranging from 10 to 1000 μM. Vestibular hair cell lesions progressively increased as the dose of cisplatin increased with maximum damage occurring around 50-100 μM, but the lesions progressively decreased at higher doses resulting in little hair cell loss at 1000 μM. The U-shaped doseresponse function for cisplatin-treated vestibular hair cells in culture appears to be regulated by copper transporters, Ctrl, ATP7A and ATP7B, that dose-dependently regulate the uptake, sequestration and extrusion of cisplatin.展开更多
The ears are air-filled structures that are directly impacted during blast exposure.In addition to hearing loss and tinnitus,blast victims often complain of vertigo,dizziness and unsteady posture,suggesting that blast...The ears are air-filled structures that are directly impacted during blast exposure.In addition to hearing loss and tinnitus,blast victims often complain of vertigo,dizziness and unsteady posture,suggesting that blast exposure induces damage to the vestibular end organs in the inner ear.However,the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated.In this report,single vestibular afferent activity and the vestibuloocular reflex(VOR)were investigated before and after exposure to blast shock waves(~20 PSI)delivered into the left external ear canals of anesthetized rats.Single vestibular afferent activity was recorded from the superior branch of the left vestibular nerves of the blast-treated and control rats one day after blast exposure.Blast exposure reduced the spontaneous discharge rates of the otolith and canal afferents.Blast exposure also reduced the sensitivity of irregular canal afferents to sinusoidal head rotation at 0.5e2Hz.Blast exposure,however,resulted in few changes in the VOR responses to sinusoidal head rotation and translation.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first study that reports blast exposure-induced damage to vestibular afferents in an animal model.These results provide insights that may be helpful in developing biomarkers for early diagnosis of blast-induced vestibular deficits in military and civilian populations.展开更多
Trimethyltin(TMT) is an occupational and environmental health hazard behaving as a potent neurotoxin known to affect the central nervous system as well as the peripheral auditory system.However,the mechanisms underlyi...Trimethyltin(TMT) is an occupational and environmental health hazard behaving as a potent neurotoxin known to affect the central nervous system as well as the peripheral auditory system.However,the mechanisms underlying TMT-induced ototoxicity are poorly understood.To elucidate the effects of TMT on the cochlea,a single injection of 4 or 8 mg/kg TMT was administered intraperitoneally to adult rats.The compound action potential(CAP) threshold was used to assess the functional status of the cochlea and histological techniques were used to assess the condition of the hair cells and auditory nerve fibers.TMT at 4 mg/kg produced a temporary CAP threshold elevation of 25-60 dB that recovered by 28 d post-treatment.Although there was no hair cell loss with the 4 mg/kg dose,there was a noticeable loss of auditory nerve fibers particularly beneath the inner hair cells.TMT at 8 mg/kg produced a large permanent CAP threshold shift that was greatest at the high frequencies.The CAP threshold shift was associated with the loss of outer hair cells and inner hair cells in the basal,high-frequency region of the cochlea,considerable loss of auditory nerve fibers and a significant loss of spiral ganglion neurons in the basal turn.Spiral ganglion neurons showed evidence of soma shrinkage and nuclear condensation and fragmentation,morphological features of apoptotic cell death.TMT-induced damage was greatest in the high-frequency,basal region of the cochlea and the nerve fibers beneath the inner hair cells were the most vulnerable structures.展开更多
The imbalance of reactive oxygen species and antioxidants is considered to be an important factor in the cellular injury of the inner ear. At present, great attention has been placed on oxidative stress. However,littl...The imbalance of reactive oxygen species and antioxidants is considered to be an important factor in the cellular injury of the inner ear. At present, great attention has been placed on oxidative stress. However,little is known about fighting oxidative stress. In the current study, we evaluated antioxidant-induced cochlear damage by applying several different additional antioxidants. To determine whether excessive antioxidants can cause damage to cochlear cells, we treated cochlear explants with 50 m M M40403, a superoxide dismutase mimetic, 50 m M coenzyme Q-10, a vitamin-like antioxidant, or 50 m M d-methionine, an essential amino acid and the important antioxidant glutathione for 48 h. Control cochlear explants without the antioxidant treatment maintained their normal structures after incubation in the standard serum-free medium for 48 h, indicating the maintenance of the inherent oxidative and antioxidant balance in these cochlear explants. In contrast, M40403 and coenzyme Q-10-treated cochlear explants displayed significant hair cell damage together with slight damage to the auditory nerve fibers.Moreover, d-methiodine-treated explants exhibited severe damage to the surface structure of hair cells and the complete loss of the spiral ganglion neurons and their peripheral fibers. These results indicate that excessive antioxidants are detrimental to cochlear cells, suggesting that inappropriate dosages of antioxidant treatments can interrupt the balance of the inherent oxidative and antioxidant capacity in the cell.展开更多
To gain insights into the ototoxic effects of aminoglycoside antibiotics(AmAn) and delayed peripheral ganglion neuron death in the inner ear.experimental animal models were widely used with several different approache...To gain insights into the ototoxic effects of aminoglycoside antibiotics(AmAn) and delayed peripheral ganglion neuron death in the inner ear.experimental animal models were widely used with several different approaches including AmAn systemic injections,combination treatment of AmAn and diuretics,or local application of AmAn.In these approaches,systemic AmAn treatment alone usually causes incomplete damage to hair cells in the inner ear.Co-administration of diuretic and AmAn can completely destroy the cochlear hair cells,but it is impossible to damage the vestibular system.Only the approach of AmAn local application can selectively eliminate most sensory hair cells in the inner ear.Therefore,AmAn local application is more suitable for studies for complete hair cell destructions in cochlear and vestibular system and the following delayed peripheral ganglion neuron death.In current studies,guinea pigs were unilaterally treated with a high concentration of gentamicin(GM,40 nig/ml) through the tympanic membrane into the middle ear cavity.Auditory functions and vestibular functions were measured before and after GM treatment.The loss of hair cells and delayed degeneration of ganglion neurons in both cochlear and vestibular system were quantified 30 days or 60 days after treatment.The results showed that both auditory and vestibular functions were completely abolished after GM treatment.The sensory hair cells were totally missing in the cochlea,and severely destroyed in vestibular end-organs.The delayed spiral ganglion neuron death 60 days after the deafening procedure was over 50%.However,no obvious pathological changes were observed in vestibular ganglion neurons 60 days post-treatment.These results indicated that a high concentration of gentamycin delivered to the middle ear cavity can destroy most sensory hair cells in the inner ear that subsequently causes the delayed spiral ganglion neuron degeneration.This model might be useful for studies of hair cell regenerations,delayed degeneration of peripheral auditory neurons,and/or vestibular compensation.In addition,a potential problem of ABR recording for unilateral deafness and issues about vestibular compensation are also discussed.展开更多
Preparation of the temporal bone for light microscopy is an important step in histological studies of the inner ear. Due to the complexity of structures of the inner ear, it is difficult to measure or compare structur...Preparation of the temporal bone for light microscopy is an important step in histological studies of the inner ear. Due to the complexity of structures of the inner ear, it is difficult to measure or compare structures of interest without a commonly accepted standardized measure of temporal bone sections. Therefore, standardization of temporal bone sections is very important for histological assessment of sensory hair cells and peripheral ganglion neurons in the cochlear and vestibular systems. The standardized temporal bone sectioning is oriented to a plane parallel to the outer and internal auditory canals. Sections are collected from the epitympanum to the hypotympanum to reveal layers in the order of the crista ampullaris of the superior and lateral semicircular canals, macula utriculi and macula sacculi, superior vestibular ganglion neurons, macula of saccule and inferior vestibular ganglion neurons, cochlear modiolus, endolymphatic duct and endolymphatic sac, and finally the crista ampullaris of the posterior semicircular canal. Moreover, technical details of preparing for temporal bone sectioning including fixation, decalcification, whole temporal bone staining, embedding penetration, and embedding orientation are also discussed.展开更多
Objective: To describe several approaches of ear surgeries for experimental studies in rats. Methods: Anesthetized rats were prepared for demonstration of various ear surgery approaches designed to optimize experime...Objective: To describe several approaches of ear surgeries for experimental studies in rats. Methods: Anesthetized rats were prepared for demonstration of various ear surgery approaches designed to optimize experimental outcomes in studies with specific goals and exposure requirements. The surgical approaches included the posterior tympanum, superior tympanum, inferior tympanum and occipital approaches. Results: The middle ear cavity and inner ear were successfully exposed from different angles via the mentioned surgical approaches. For example, electrode placement for recording of cochlear bioelectric responses was easily achieved through the posterior tympanum or inferior tympanum approach. Alternatively, drug delivery or gene transfection via round window membrane was most easily accomplished using the posterior tympanum approach. Cochlear perfusion of protective or ototoxic drugs was best performed using the inferior tympanum approach. Ossicular chain interruption to induce a prolonged conductive hearing loss was readily achieved using a superior tympanum approach. Lastly, surgical destruction of the endolymphatic sac to induce experimental endolymphatic hydrops was readily performed via an occipital surgical approach.Conclusion: These standardized surgical approaches can be applied in scientific studies of the ear with different purposes covering electro- physiology, conductive hearing loss, intra-cochlear drug perfusion and experimental studies relevant to Meniere's disease.展开更多
As most gene sequences and functional structures of internal organs in rats have been well studied,rat models arc widely used in experimental medical studies.A large number of descriptions and atlas of the rat tempora...As most gene sequences and functional structures of internal organs in rats have been well studied,rat models arc widely used in experimental medical studies.A large number of descriptions and atlas of the rat temporal bone have been published,but some detailed anatomy of its surface and inside structures remains to be studied.By focusing on some unique characteristics of the rat temporal bone,the current paper aims to provide more accurate and detailed information on rat temporal bone anatomy in an attempt to complete missing or unclear areas in the existed knowledge.We also hope this paper can lay a solid foundation for experimental rat temporal bone surgeries,and promote information exchange among colleagues,as well as providing useful guidance for novice researchers in the field of hearing research involving rats.展开更多
基金supported in part by a grant from National Natural Science Foundation of China 81470706a grant from Guangdong Natural Science Foundation No 2015A030313180
文摘Over the past two decades considerable progress has been made in understanding the ototoxic effects and mechanisms underlying loop diuretics. As typical representative of loop diuretics ethacrynic acid or furosemide only induces temporary hearing loss, but rarely permanent deafness unless applied in severe acute or chronic renal failure or with other ototoxic drugs. Loop diuretic induce unique pathological changes in the cochlea such as formation of edematous spaces in the epithelium of the stria vascularis, which leads to rapid decrease of the endolymphatic potential and eventual loss of the cochlear microphonic potential, summating potential, and compound action potential. Loop diuretics interfere with strial adenylate cyclase and Nat/Kt-ATPase and inhibit the Na-K-2Cl cotransporter in the stria vascularis, however recent reports indicate that one of the earliest effects in vivo is to abolish blood flow in the vessels supplying the lateral wall. Since ethacrynic acid does not damage the stria vascularis in vitro, the changes in Nat/Kt-ATPase and Na-K-2Cl seen in vivo may be secondary effects results from strial ischemia and anoxia. Recent observations showing that renin is present in pericytes surrounding stria arterioles suggest that diuretics may induce local vasoconstriction by renin secretion and angiotensin formation. The tight junctions in the blood-cochlea barrier prevent toxic molecules and pathogens from entering cochlea, but when diuretics induce a transient ischemia, the barrier is temporarily disrupted allowing the entry of toxic chemicals or pathogens.
基金supported in part by a grant from NIOSH(R01OH010235)in part by NIH grant 5ROlDC011808+1 种基金in part by grant NIH ROIDC014437in part by foundation of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality(NO 15140900900)
文摘Cisplatin, a widely used anticancer drug, damages hair cells in cochlear organotypic cultures at low doses, but paradoxically causes little damage at high doses resulting in a U-shaped dose-response function. To determine if the cisplatin dose-response function for vestibular hair cells follows a similar pattern, we treated vestibular organotypic cultures with doses of cisplatin ranging from 10 to 1000 μM. Vestibular hair cell lesions progressively increased as the dose of cisplatin increased with maximum damage occurring around 50-100 μM, but the lesions progressively decreased at higher doses resulting in little hair cell loss at 1000 μM. The U-shaped doseresponse function for cisplatin-treated vestibular hair cells in culture appears to be regulated by copper transporters, Ctrl, ATP7A and ATP7B, that dose-dependently regulate the uptake, sequestration and extrusion of cisplatin.
文摘The ears are air-filled structures that are directly impacted during blast exposure.In addition to hearing loss and tinnitus,blast victims often complain of vertigo,dizziness and unsteady posture,suggesting that blast exposure induces damage to the vestibular end organs in the inner ear.However,the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated.In this report,single vestibular afferent activity and the vestibuloocular reflex(VOR)were investigated before and after exposure to blast shock waves(~20 PSI)delivered into the left external ear canals of anesthetized rats.Single vestibular afferent activity was recorded from the superior branch of the left vestibular nerves of the blast-treated and control rats one day after blast exposure.Blast exposure reduced the spontaneous discharge rates of the otolith and canal afferents.Blast exposure also reduced the sensitivity of irregular canal afferents to sinusoidal head rotation at 0.5e2Hz.Blast exposure,however,resulted in few changes in the VOR responses to sinusoidal head rotation and translation.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first study that reports blast exposure-induced damage to vestibular afferents in an animal model.These results provide insights that may be helpful in developing biomarkers for early diagnosis of blast-induced vestibular deficits in military and civilian populations.
基金supported in part by grants from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (R01OH010235)the National Nature Science Foundation of China(No.81170912)the Major State Basic Research Development Program of China (No.2014CB943003)
文摘Trimethyltin(TMT) is an occupational and environmental health hazard behaving as a potent neurotoxin known to affect the central nervous system as well as the peripheral auditory system.However,the mechanisms underlying TMT-induced ototoxicity are poorly understood.To elucidate the effects of TMT on the cochlea,a single injection of 4 or 8 mg/kg TMT was administered intraperitoneally to adult rats.The compound action potential(CAP) threshold was used to assess the functional status of the cochlea and histological techniques were used to assess the condition of the hair cells and auditory nerve fibers.TMT at 4 mg/kg produced a temporary CAP threshold elevation of 25-60 dB that recovered by 28 d post-treatment.Although there was no hair cell loss with the 4 mg/kg dose,there was a noticeable loss of auditory nerve fibers particularly beneath the inner hair cells.TMT at 8 mg/kg produced a large permanent CAP threshold shift that was greatest at the high frequencies.The CAP threshold shift was associated with the loss of outer hair cells and inner hair cells in the basal,high-frequency region of the cochlea,considerable loss of auditory nerve fibers and a significant loss of spiral ganglion neurons in the basal turn.Spiral ganglion neurons showed evidence of soma shrinkage and nuclear condensation and fragmentation,morphological features of apoptotic cell death.TMT-induced damage was greatest in the high-frequency,basal region of the cochlea and the nerve fibers beneath the inner hair cells were the most vulnerable structures.
基金supported in part by a grant from NIHR01DC014437in part by the foundation of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (NO 15140900900)
文摘The imbalance of reactive oxygen species and antioxidants is considered to be an important factor in the cellular injury of the inner ear. At present, great attention has been placed on oxidative stress. However,little is known about fighting oxidative stress. In the current study, we evaluated antioxidant-induced cochlear damage by applying several different additional antioxidants. To determine whether excessive antioxidants can cause damage to cochlear cells, we treated cochlear explants with 50 m M M40403, a superoxide dismutase mimetic, 50 m M coenzyme Q-10, a vitamin-like antioxidant, or 50 m M d-methionine, an essential amino acid and the important antioxidant glutathione for 48 h. Control cochlear explants without the antioxidant treatment maintained their normal structures after incubation in the standard serum-free medium for 48 h, indicating the maintenance of the inherent oxidative and antioxidant balance in these cochlear explants. In contrast, M40403 and coenzyme Q-10-treated cochlear explants displayed significant hair cell damage together with slight damage to the auditory nerve fibers.Moreover, d-methiodine-treated explants exhibited severe damage to the surface structure of hair cells and the complete loss of the spiral ganglion neurons and their peripheral fibers. These results indicate that excessive antioxidants are detrimental to cochlear cells, suggesting that inappropriate dosages of antioxidant treatments can interrupt the balance of the inherent oxidative and antioxidant capacity in the cell.
基金supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China(No.81170912)the Major State Basic Research Development Program of China(973 Program,No.2014CB943003)
文摘To gain insights into the ototoxic effects of aminoglycoside antibiotics(AmAn) and delayed peripheral ganglion neuron death in the inner ear.experimental animal models were widely used with several different approaches including AmAn systemic injections,combination treatment of AmAn and diuretics,or local application of AmAn.In these approaches,systemic AmAn treatment alone usually causes incomplete damage to hair cells in the inner ear.Co-administration of diuretic and AmAn can completely destroy the cochlear hair cells,but it is impossible to damage the vestibular system.Only the approach of AmAn local application can selectively eliminate most sensory hair cells in the inner ear.Therefore,AmAn local application is more suitable for studies for complete hair cell destructions in cochlear and vestibular system and the following delayed peripheral ganglion neuron death.In current studies,guinea pigs were unilaterally treated with a high concentration of gentamicin(GM,40 nig/ml) through the tympanic membrane into the middle ear cavity.Auditory functions and vestibular functions were measured before and after GM treatment.The loss of hair cells and delayed degeneration of ganglion neurons in both cochlear and vestibular system were quantified 30 days or 60 days after treatment.The results showed that both auditory and vestibular functions were completely abolished after GM treatment.The sensory hair cells were totally missing in the cochlea,and severely destroyed in vestibular end-organs.The delayed spiral ganglion neuron death 60 days after the deafening procedure was over 50%.However,no obvious pathological changes were observed in vestibular ganglion neurons 60 days post-treatment.These results indicated that a high concentration of gentamycin delivered to the middle ear cavity can destroy most sensory hair cells in the inner ear that subsequently causes the delayed spiral ganglion neuron degeneration.This model might be useful for studies of hair cell regenerations,delayed degeneration of peripheral auditory neurons,and/or vestibular compensation.In addition,a potential problem of ABR recording for unilateral deafness and issues about vestibular compensation are also discussed.
文摘Preparation of the temporal bone for light microscopy is an important step in histological studies of the inner ear. Due to the complexity of structures of the inner ear, it is difficult to measure or compare structures of interest without a commonly accepted standardized measure of temporal bone sections. Therefore, standardization of temporal bone sections is very important for histological assessment of sensory hair cells and peripheral ganglion neurons in the cochlear and vestibular systems. The standardized temporal bone sectioning is oriented to a plane parallel to the outer and internal auditory canals. Sections are collected from the epitympanum to the hypotympanum to reveal layers in the order of the crista ampullaris of the superior and lateral semicircular canals, macula utriculi and macula sacculi, superior vestibular ganglion neurons, macula of saccule and inferior vestibular ganglion neurons, cochlear modiolus, endolymphatic duct and endolymphatic sac, and finally the crista ampullaris of the posterior semicircular canal. Moreover, technical details of preparing for temporal bone sectioning including fixation, decalcification, whole temporal bone staining, embedding penetration, and embedding orientation are also discussed.
文摘Objective: To describe several approaches of ear surgeries for experimental studies in rats. Methods: Anesthetized rats were prepared for demonstration of various ear surgery approaches designed to optimize experimental outcomes in studies with specific goals and exposure requirements. The surgical approaches included the posterior tympanum, superior tympanum, inferior tympanum and occipital approaches. Results: The middle ear cavity and inner ear were successfully exposed from different angles via the mentioned surgical approaches. For example, electrode placement for recording of cochlear bioelectric responses was easily achieved through the posterior tympanum or inferior tympanum approach. Alternatively, drug delivery or gene transfection via round window membrane was most easily accomplished using the posterior tympanum approach. Cochlear perfusion of protective or ototoxic drugs was best performed using the inferior tympanum approach. Ossicular chain interruption to induce a prolonged conductive hearing loss was readily achieved using a superior tympanum approach. Lastly, surgical destruction of the endolymphatic sac to induce experimental endolymphatic hydrops was readily performed via an occipital surgical approach.Conclusion: These standardized surgical approaches can be applied in scientific studies of the ear with different purposes covering electro- physiology, conductive hearing loss, intra-cochlear drug perfusion and experimental studies relevant to Meniere's disease.
基金supported in part by a grant from Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Project 2013B022000046
文摘As most gene sequences and functional structures of internal organs in rats have been well studied,rat models arc widely used in experimental medical studies.A large number of descriptions and atlas of the rat temporal bone have been published,but some detailed anatomy of its surface and inside structures remains to be studied.By focusing on some unique characteristics of the rat temporal bone,the current paper aims to provide more accurate and detailed information on rat temporal bone anatomy in an attempt to complete missing or unclear areas in the existed knowledge.We also hope this paper can lay a solid foundation for experimental rat temporal bone surgeries,and promote information exchange among colleagues,as well as providing useful guidance for novice researchers in the field of hearing research involving rats.