Electrophysiology of the electrically and mechanically damaged cochlea

Electrical and mechanical stimuli were used in an attempt to cause cochlear deafness in a preparation with a rich supply of afferent cochlear neurons. Hearing sensitivity was assessed by electrocochleography and neuron survival was estimated by evaluating electrically induced auditory brainstem responses (EABR). Charge balanced sinusoidal alternating currents between 1 and 30 kHz for up to 15 hours produced a limited high frequency hearing loss when applied through the intact round window. A similar permanent threshold shift (PTS) could be induced by mechanical irritation with a scala tympani electrode through a round window fenestration. There is a summation of electrical and mechanical damage; however, complete deafness never occurred and the EABR provided no evidence for a major retrocochlear damage. These results suggest that deafness associated with perilymph leakage or induced during certain types of ear surgery should not be accepted as inevitable.

Activation of the GM-CSF promoter by HTLV-I and -II tax proteins

Production of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) by normal T lymphocytes requires activation by antigen, mitogen or lectin, whereas T-cell lines transformed by human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) or type II (HTLV-II) constitutively produce high levels of GM-CSF. Using transient cotransfection assays, we demonstrate that introduction of the tax gene of either HTLV-I or HTLV-II is sufficient to activate GM-CSF promoter constructs in an unstimulated T-cell line. The GM-CSF 5' flanking sequences previously shown to be sufficient for GM-CSF induction following T-cell activation are also sufficient for activation by the HTLV tax proteins. The sequences required for trans-activation of GM-CSF are distinct from those required for the activation of other T-cell-inducible genes (IL-2R alpha, IL-2) by tax, suggesting that tax can have pleiotropic effects on gene expression in T cells. Constitutive GM-CSF production by HTLV-infected T cells may therefore be due to trans-activation of its promoter by tax. Expression of GM-CSF by HTLV-I infected lymphocytes may be important in the granulocytosis and eosinophilia frequently seen in patients with HTLV-I-induced adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma.

Transmitter neurochemistry of the efferent neuron system innervating the labyrinth

It is likely that several mechanisms contribute to the efferent control of cochlear and vestibular function. Different effects are probably mediated by different neuronal transmitters. In spite of a number of transmitter candidates, it is still widely assumed that the entire efferent system can be globally characterized as cholinergic. We attempted to label retrogradely identified efferent neurons in the brainstem with a monoclonal antibody against choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), the acetylcholine (ACh) synthesizing enzyme. Only a portion of the vestibular efferents could thus be shown to be cholinergic in the rat. Medial cochlear efferents, terminating under outer hair cells, may also be cholinergic since they stain intensely for acetylcholine esterase (AChE) after pre-treatment with the AChE inhibitor diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP). The lateral cochlear efferents terminating under inner hair cells, as well as more than half of the vestibular efferent neuron population, reacted negatively with either method designed to identify cholinergic neurons. Half of the lateral olivo-cochlear neuron population filled retrogradely with tritiated gamma-amino butyric acid [( 3H]-GABA). These cells were similar in size and distribution to neurons staining for the GABA synthesizing enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD). Retrograde transport of [3H]-aspartate from the inner ear to the brainstem was seen in half of the lateral olivocochlear population, as well as in part of the efferent vestibular population in group E and in the caudal pontine reticular nucleus (CPR). Since various peptides have also been located in efferent neurons, this system is chemically diversified. Several distinct mechanisms of efferent control with presumably differing functions must, therefore, exist.

Histopathology of chloroform-induced inner ear damage

Inner ear function loss was caused in guinea pigs and rats by injecting chloroform into the middle ear. After symptoms for cochlear and vestibular deficit had been registered, the animals were permitted to survive for one day to five months. Ear histopathology was then studied in celloidin sections. In both species, hair cells and afferent nerve fibers were intact at all survival times. The acute stage of functional loss in guinea pigs was associated with inner ears of normal histological appearance. Within days after chloroform injection a severe otitis media developed which led to fibrous occlusion of the round window and eventually to new bone growth in the middle ear space around the otic capsule. A secondary labyrinthitis was also observed, resulting in endolymphatic hydrops at longer survival times. Different histopathological changes were seen in rats. The tectorial membrane appeared swollen in all cases, the swelling being more severe in more apical turns at longer survival times. It is concluded that only secondary sequela of the initial functional insult can be detected by standard light microscopic histopathology. Chloroform does not cause a chemical labyrinthectomy as previously assumed, although it is severely ototoxic.

Retrograde transport of [3H]-GABA by lateral olivocochlear neurons in the rat

Injection of [3H]-gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) into the perilymphatic space of the rat's inner ear resulted in retrograde labeling of a portion of the small efferent olivocochlear neurons within the lateral superior olivary nucleus (LSO). These cells were of similar size as LSO neurons stained immunohistochemically with antibodies to the GABA synthesizing enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD). They were of fusiform shape, but smaller than principal LSO cells, which did not stain for GAD and did not accumulate [3H]-GABA. Other efferent cochlear and vestibular neurons were not labeled.

Electrophysiological evaluation of chloroform-induced inner ear damage

Local placement of chloroform in either the external or the middle ear has been previously reported to induce a chemical labyrinthectomy. In order to examine the value of this effect as a research tool, we injected chloroform into the middle ears of guinea pigs and rats. Cochlear damage was assessed by electrocochleography (ECochG) and auditory brainstem response (ABR) audiometry. Both species developed complete deafness within a few hours after instillation of the chloroform. The deafness was permanent in the guinea pigs, whereas there was a partial recovery of auditory function in the rats. The survival rate of the auditory nerve fibers was estimated by measuring the ABR evoked by electrical stimulation via the scala tympani (EABR). A normal EABR recruitment pattern suggested that the main chloroform effect was located peripheral to the afferent axons. In conclusion, chloroform must be considered a severely ototoxic agent when applied locally.

Cholinergic innervation of the rat's labyrinth

Efferent vestibular and cochlear neurons were identified in the rat's brain stem by retrograde labelling with True Blue (TB) or wheat germ agglutinin - horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) injected into the utricle. Such cells were found at the same locations described in 1983 by White and Warr (ipsilateral superior olivary nucleus (LSO), bilateral latero-ventral nucleus of the trapezoid body (LTz) bilateral group E medial and lateral to the genu facialis) and, in addition, bilaterally in the caudal pontine reticular nucleus (CPR) at the level of the descending facial nerve. Cholinergic neurons were identified by counterstaining sections containing TB filled perikarya for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) following pretreatment with diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) or choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), by immunohistochemistry with highly specific monoclonal antibodies. Many, but not all, vestibular efferent cell bodies located in group E were shown to be cholinergic. These and other recently published data suggest that the efferent octavus system may consist of a number of chemically distinct cell groups.

Bechterew decompensation

A right labyrinthectomy was performed in rats 5 months after a left labyrinthectomy. Spontaneous compensation of balance functions after both operations was assessed by observing nystagmus, rolling about the longitudinal axis, circular walking and head tilt. Decompensation, induced by brief halothane-NO anaesthesia, released predominantly symptoms characteristic for the period after the first labyrinthectomy. Bechterew symptoms could, however, also be decompensated. It is concluded that Bechterew compensation does not re-establish balance in the central vestibular system. Dysbalance and vertigo of vestibular origin is thus conceivable in patients after all peripheral vestibular function has been lost.

A procedure of vestibular decompensation for clinical diagnosis. I. Animal experiments

Vestibular lesions are often so effectively compensated that their diagnosis may be difficult. Certain chemicals can decompensate the central vestibular system and thus uncover symptoms present before compensation. This study attempts to devise a procedure which can utilize such decompensation for the benefit of clinical diagnosis. Unilateral labyrinthectomies were performed in rats. Pathological movements and body positions due to the vestibular loss were compensated within about one week. Systemic application of cholinomimetic drugs (physostigmine and nicotine) led to consistent decompensation which lasted, however, too long and was accompanied by too severe side effects to be considered for clinical diagnostic purposes. Local application of these drugs into the middle ear of the healthy side were without effect. Brief inhalation of nitrous oxide (up to 79 vol.%) caused decompensation during the first four postoperative weeks but not consistently at longer survival times. Inhalation of halothane in N2O and O2 for 90 seconds caused a reliable decompensation at all times during the six month postoperative observation period. It is concluded that a brief halothane-N2O anesthesia may prove to be useful in a diagnostic search for compensated vestibular deficits.