Otology
Abstract
Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is a key proinflammatory cytokine involved in the progression of many autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases, including autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED). IL-1β inhibition has been shown to result in clinical hearing improvement in a small cohort of corticosteroid-resistant patients with AIED. Canonical processing of pro–IL-1β by caspase-1 generates an active 17-kDa fragment, capable of instigating a proinflammatory microenvironment. However, in response to LPS, PBMCs from patients with AIED uniquely express a 28-kDa IL-1β fragment, as compared with PBMCs from control subjects. We synthesized and compared the biologic activity of the 28-kDa fragment to the 17-kDa IL-1β product and the pro–IL-1 31-kDa protein. The 28-kDa IL-1β fragment induces IL-6, TNF-α, and CCL3 in PBMCs. Uniquely, only caspase-7 treatment showed a dose- and time-dependent increase in 28-kDa band generation. Mass spectrometry confirmed the putative caspase-7 cleavage site of pro–IL-1β, which was used to generate the 28-kDa fragment used for PBMC stimulation studies. Collectively, these results provide insight into the function of a poorly understood, processed 28-kDa form of IL-1β in patients with AIED that is uniquely generated by caspase-7 and is capable of activating further downstream proinflammatory cytokines. Further investigation may provide novel pharmacologic targets for the treatment of this rare disease.
Authors
Shresh Pathak, Andrea Vambutas
Abstract
Ultrasound-induced microbubble (USMB) cavitation is widely used to promote drug delivery. Our previous study investigated USMB targeting round window membrane by applying the ultrasound transducer to tympanic bulla. In the present study we further extended the use of this technology to enhance drug delivery to inner ear by introducing the ultrasound transducer into external auditory canal (EAC) or applying it to skull. Using a three-dimensional-printed diffusion apparatus mimicking the pathway for ultrasound passing through and reaching middle ear cavity in vitro, both models simulating the transcanal and transcranial approach demonstrated 4.8-fold and 3.7-fold higher delivery efficiencies, respectively. In vivo model of guinea pigs, by filling tympanic bulla with microbubbles and biotin-fluorescein (biotin-FITC), USMB applied transcanally and transcranially induced 2.8-fold and 1.5-fold increases in biotin-FITC delivery efficiencies, respectively. In addition, the gentamicin uptake by cochlear and vestibular hair cells and gentamicin-induced hair cell loss were significantly enhanced following transcanal application of USMB. On the 28th day after transcanal USMB, safety assessment showed no significant changes in the hearing thresholds and the integrity of cochlea. These are the first results to demonstrate the feasibility and support the potential clinical application of applying USMB via EAC to facilitate drug delivery into inner ear.
Authors
Ai-Ho Liao, Chih-Hung Wang, Ping-Yu Weng, Yi-Chun Lin, Hao Wang, Hang-Kang Chen, Hao-Li Liu, Ho-Chiao Chuang, Cheng-Ping Shih
Abstract
BACKGROUND Bilateral loss of vestibular (inner ear inertial) sensation causes chronically blurred vision during head movement, postural instability, and increased fall risk. Individuals who fail to compensate despite rehabilitation therapy have no adequate treatment options. Analogous to hearing restoration via cochlear implants, prosthetic electrical stimulation of vestibular nerve branches to encode head motion has garnered interest as a potential treatment, but prior studies in humans have not included continuous long-term stimulation or 3D binocular vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) oculography, without which one cannot determine whether an implant selectively stimulates the implanted ear’s 3 semicircular canals.METHODS We report binocular 3D VOR responses of 4 human subjects with ototoxic bilateral vestibular loss unilaterally implanted with a Labyrinth Devices Multichannel Vestibular Implant System vestibular implant, which provides continuous, long-term, motion-modulated prosthetic stimulation via electrodes in 3 semicircular canals.RESULTS Initiation of prosthetic stimulation evoked nystagmus that decayed within 30 minutes. Stimulation targeting 1 canal produced 3D VOR responses approximately aligned with that canal’s anatomic axis. Targeting multiple canals yielded responses aligned with a vector sum of individual responses. Over 350–812 days of continuous 24 h/d use, modulated electrical stimulation produced stable VOR responses that grew with stimulus intensity and aligned approximately with any specified 3D head rotation axis.CONCLUSION These results demonstrate that a vestibular implant can selectively, continuously, and chronically provide artificial sensory input to all 3 implanted semicircular canals in individuals disabled by bilateral vestibular loss, driving reflexive VOR eye movements that approximately align in 3D with the head motion axis encoded by the implant.TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02725463.FUNDING NIH/National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders: R01DC013536 and 2T32DC000023; Labyrinth Devices, LLC; and Med-El GmbH.
Authors
Peter J. Boutros, Desi P. Schoo, Mehdi Rahman, Nicolas S. Valentin, Margaret R. Chow, Andrianna I. Ayiotis, Brian J. Morris, Andreas Hofner, Aitor Morillo Rascon, Andreas Marx, Ross Deas, Gene Y. Fridman, Natan S. Davidovics, Bryan K. Ward, Carolina Treviño, Stephen P. Bowditch, Dale C. Roberts, Kelly E. Lane, Yoav Gimmon, Michael C. Schubert, John P. Carey, Andreas Jaeger, Charles C. Della Santina
Abstract
Although human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a known cause of sensorineural hearing loss in infants with congenital HCMV (cCMV) infections, mechanisms that contribute to sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in infants with cCMV infection are not well defined. Using a murine model of CMV infection during auditory development, we have shown that peripheral infection of newborn mice with murine CMV (MCMV) results in focal infection of the cochlea and virus-induced cochlear inflammation. Approximately 50%–60% of infected mice exhibited increased auditory brainstem response (ABR) thresholds across a range of sound frequencies. Histological analyses of the cochlea in MCMV-infected mice with elevated ABR thresholds revealed preservation of hair cell (HC) number and morphology in the organ of Corti. In contrast, the number of spiral ganglion neurons (SGN), synapses, and neurites connecting the cochlear HC and SGN nerve terminals were decreased. Decreasing cochlear inflammation by corticosteroid treatment of MCMV-infected mice resulted in preservation of SGN and improved auditory function. These findings show that virus-induced cochlear inflammation during early auditory development, rather than direct virus-mediated damage, could contribute to histopathology in the cochlea and altered auditory function without significant loss of HCs in the sensory epithelium.
Authors
Cathy Yea Won Sung, Maria C. Seleme, Shelby Payne, Stipan Jonjic, Keiko Hirose, William Britt
Abstract
Otits media (OM) is the most frequent indication for antimicrobial prescription to US children. Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) remains one of the most common pathogens causing OM. Successful eradication of S. pneumoniae in the middle ear can be achieved by adhering to a 7–10 day regimen of oral antibiotics. However, oral drug administration is challenging for parents. Lack of adherence has been associated with treatment failure or early relapse. To overcome this challenge, we used a noninvasive formulation to achieve high transtympanic antibiotic flux and cured S. pneumoniae OM in chinchillas. The formulation consists of a thermosensitive in situ gelling hydrogel, chemical permeation enhancers, and an antibiotic. The direct transport of drugs into the middle ear produced high concentrations of ciprofloxacin (in the range of hundreds of micrograms per milliliter) within the first 24 hours of administration. Drug concentrations above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for S. pneumoniae were sustained throughout the 7-day treatment. S. pneumoniae OM in a chinchilla model was successfully eradicated, without causing tissue toxicity. Transtympanic delivery minimized systemic drug exposure, as evidenced by undetectable levels in blood, measured by high-performance liquid chromatography.
Authors
Rong Yang, Vishakha Sabharwal, Nadya Shlykova, Obiajulu S. Okonkwo, Stephen I. Pelton, Daniel S. Kohane
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