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[Ototoxicity of kanamycin sulfate in adult rats and its underlying mechanisms.] [Article in Chinese]

ZHANG Zhi-Cun, YU Hong-Meng^*, LIU Quan, TIAN Jie, WANG Tian-Feng, LAI Chui-Jin, ZHOU Xiao-Ya

Department of Otolaryngology and Central Laboratory, Eye Ear Nose and Throat Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China； The Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the ototoxicity of kanamycin sulfate (KM) in adult rats and its underlying mechanism. Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats (6–7 weeks old) were randomly divided into the experimental group and the control group. The animals in the experimental group were injected subcutaneously with KM (500 mg/kg per day) for two weeks, and the control group received equal volume of normal saline. To assess the ototoxicity of KM, the auditory brainstem response (ABR) was recorded to monitor the changes in hearing thresholds, and the density of spiral ganglion cells (SGCs) and morphology of cochlea were observed using surface preparations and frozen sections of cochlea. The results showed that the hearing threshold of rats in the experimental group was elevated by more than 60 dB across all the frequencies two weeks after the first administration of KM. And in the experimental group, the density of SGCs became lower, and organ of Corti suffered loss of hair cells. The loss of outer hair cells (OHCs) was more severe than that of inner hair cells (IHCs), correlated with the density decrease of SGCs. We conclude that the ototoxicity of KM in the adult rats was apparent and the underlying mechanism is associated with the loss of SGCs and hair cells.

Key words: kanamycin sulfate; hearing loss; auditory brainstem response; rat

Received: 2010-10-12　　Accepted: 2011-02-18

Corresponding author: 余洪猛　　E-mail: hongmengyush@yahoo.com.cn

Citing This Article：

ZHANG Zhi-Cun, YU Hong-Meng, LIU Quan, TIAN Jie, WANG Tian-Feng, LAI Chui-Jin, ZHOU Xiao-Ya. [Ototoxicity of kanamycin sulfate in adult rats and its underlying mechanisms.] [Article in Chinese]. Acta Physiol Sin 2011; 63 (2): 171-176 (in Chinese with English abstract).