title: Murine autoimmune hearing loss mediated by CD4+ T cells specific for β-tubulin.
abstract: Autoimmune inner ear disease is described as progressive, bilateral although asymmetric, sensorineural hearing loss and can be improved by immunosuppressive therapy. We showed that the inner ear autoantigen β-tubulin is capable of inducing experimental autoimmune hearing loss (EAHL) in mice. Immunization of BALB/c mice with β-tubulin resulted in hair cell loss and hearing loss, effects that were not seen in animals immunized with control peptide. Moreover, the EAHL model showed that β-tubulin responsiveness involved CD4(+) T cells producing IFN-γ, and T cell mediation of EAHL was determined by significantly increased auditory brainstem response after adoptive transfer of β-tubulin-activated CD4(+) T cells into naive BALB/c recipients. The potential mechanisms responsible for the observed pathology of EAHL can be attributed to decreased frequency and impaired suppressive function of regulatory T cells. Our study suggests that EAHL may be a T cell-mediated organ-specific autoimmune disorder of the inner ear.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Mohammad Habiby
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kermany
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Glickstein
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Yixuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Usha
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.forename: Jun Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Wenxia
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Siva
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanangat
authors.forename: Tai June
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Yoo
mesh_terms: D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000818:Animals; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006199:Hair Cells, Auditory, Inner / Q000276:immunology; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000276:immunology*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D020721:Nervous System Autoimmune Disease, Experimental / Q000276:immunology*; D014404:Tubulin / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D001324:Autoantigens; D014404:Tubulin; D007371:Interferon-gamma