Otoprotective Effects of Stephania tetrandra S. Moore Herb Isolate against Acoustic Trauma

Abstract

Noise is the most common occupational and environmental hazard, and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is the second most common form of sensorineural hearing deficit. Although therapeutics that target the free-radical pathway have shown promise, none of these compounds is currently approved against NIHL by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The present study has demonstrated that tetrandrine (TET), a traditional Chinese medicinal alkaloid and the main chemical isolate of the Stephania tetrandra S. Moore herb, significantly attenuated NIHL in CBA/CaJ mice. TET is known to exert antihypertensive and antiarrhythmic effects through the blocking of calcium channels. Whole-cell patch-clamp recording from adult spiral ganglion neurons showed that TET blocked the transient Ca current in a dose-dependent manner and the half-blocking concentration was 0.6 + 0.1 μM. Consistent with previous findings that modulations of calcium-based signaling pathways have both prophylactic and therapeutic effects against neural trauma, NIHL was significantly diminished by TET administration. Importantly, TET has a long-lasting protective effect after noise exposure (48 weeks) in comparison to 2 weeks after noise exposure. The otoprotective effects of TET were achieved mainly by preventing outer hair cell damage and synapse loss between inner hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons. Thus, our data indicate that TET has great potential in the prevention and treatment of NIHL.

Tetrandrine Prevents Neomycin-Induced Ototoxicity by Promoting Steroid Biosynthesis

“…Despite multiple agents having been reported to protect against aminoglycoside-induced SHL, it is a concerning reality that none of the described agents have yet entered clinical trials. Previous research showed that TET could prevent outer hair cell damage and synapse loss after noise exposure ( Yu et al, 2018 ), but there is little information about the effect of TET on neomycin-induced ototoxicity.…”

“…Numerous studies have verified that TET possesses a broad-spectrum of distinct pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory ( Ren et al, 2021 ), neuroprotective ( Chen et al, 2016 ), calcium antagonistic ( Ding et al, 2021 ), anti-hypertensive ( Huang et al, 2016 ), and antineoplastic ( Zhang et al, 2020 ) activities. Furthermore, it has been reported that TET has an otoprotective effect against noise-induced hearing loss ( Yu et al, 2018 ). We thus speculated that TET may have great potential in the prevention of aminoglycoside-induced SHL.…”

A critical review: traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of Stephania tetrandra S. Moore (Fen Fang Ji)

“…Tetrandrine (60 and 120 mg/kg) has shown great potential in the prevention and treatment of noiseinduced hearing loss. It acts primarily by preventing outer hair cell damage and preventing synapse loss between inner hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons (Yu et al 2018). Despite the dramatic effects of tetrandrine in protection against noise-induced hearing loss at the cellular level, molecular mechanisms underlying this protection are not well understood.…”

Genetic association study between TAB2 polymorphisms and noise-induced-hearing-loss in a Han Chinese population

“…Noise-induced-hearing-loss(NIHL) is classified as a form of sensorineural hearing deficits and a major contributor to occupational disease burden in the world [ 1 ]. Patients with NIHL are reported to have a higher possibility getting depressive symptoms [ 2 ].…”