{Reference Type}: Journal Article
{Title}: Therapeutic effect of NLRP3 inhibition on hearing loss induced by systemic inflammation in a CAPS-associated mouse model.
{Author}: Ma JH;Lee E;Yoon SH;Min H;Oh JH;Hwang I;Sung Y;Ryu JH;Bok J;Yu JW;Ma JH;Lee E;Yoon SH;Min H;Oh JH;Hwang I;Sung Y;Ryu JH;Bok J;Yu JW;Ma JH;Lee E;Yoon SH;Min H;Oh JH;Hwang I;Sung Y;Ryu JH;Bok J;Yu JW;
{Journal}: EBioMedicine
{Volume}: 82
{Issue}: 0
{Year}: Aug 2022
{Factor}: 11.205
{DOI}: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104184
{Abstract}: BACKGROUND: Cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS) is an inherited autoinflammatory disease caused by a gain-of-function mutation in NLRP3. Although CAPS patients frequently suffer from sensorineural hearing loss, it remains unclear whether CAPS-associated mutation in NLRP3 is associated with the progression of hearing loss.
METHODS: We generated a mice with conditional expression of CAPS-associated NLRP3 mutant (D301N) in cochlea-resident CX3CR1 macrophages and examined the susceptibility of CAPS mice to inflammation-mediated hearing loss in a local and systemic inflammation context.
RESULTS: Upon lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection into middle ear cavity, NLRP3 mutant mice exhibited severe cochlear inflammation, inflammasome activation and hearing loss. However, this middle ear injection model induced a considerable hearing loss in control mice and inevitably caused an inflammation-independent hearing loss possibly due to ear tissue damages by injection procedure. Subsequently, we optimized a systemic LPS injection model, which induced a significant hearing loss in NLRP3 mutant mice but not in control mice. Peripheral inflammation induced by a repetitive low dose of LPS injection caused a blood-labyrinth barrier disruption, macrophage infiltration into cochlea and cochlear inflammasome activation in an NLRP3-dependent manner. Interestingly, both cochlea-infiltrating and -resident macrophages contribute to peripheral inflammation-mediated hearing loss of CAPS mice. Furthermore, NLRP3-specific inhibitor, MCC950, as well as an interleukin-1 receptor antagonist significantly alleviated systemic LPS-induced hearing loss and inflammatory phenotypes in NLRP3 mutant mice.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings reveal that CAPS-associated NLRP3 mutation is critical for peripheral inflammation-induced hearing loss in our CAPS mice model, and an NLRP3-specific inhibitor can be used to treat inflammation-mediated sensorineural hearing loss.
BACKGROUND: National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government and the Team Science Award of Yonsei University College of Medicine.