Department of Hyperbaric Oxygen Medicine, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China.
Institute of Basic Medicine Sciences, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China.
Biomed Environ Sci. 2020 May 20;33(5):331-337. doi: 10.3967/bes2020.045.
Hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) has demonstrated efficacy in improving hearing levels of patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL); however, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. HBOT alleviates the inflammatory response, which is mediated by Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and nuclear factor (NF)-κB. In this study we investigated whether HBOT attenuates inflammation in ISHHL patients alteration of TLR4 and NF-κB expression.
ISHHL patients ( = 120) and healthy control subjects ( = 20) were enrolled in this study. Patients were randomly divided into medicine group treated with medicine only ( = 60) and HBO group receiving both HBOT and medicine ( = 60). Audiometric testing was performed pre- and post-treatment. TLR4, NF-кB, and TNF-α expression in peripheral blood of ISSHL patients and healthy control subjects was assessed by ELISA before and after treatment.
TLR4, NF-κB, and TNF-α levels were upregulated in ISSHL patients relative to healthy control subjects; the levels were decreased following treatment and were lower in the HBO group than that in the medicine group post-treatment ( < 0.05 and < 0.01).
HBOT alleviates hearing loss in ISSHL patients by suppressing the inflammatory response induced by TLR4 and NF-κB signaling.
高压氧治疗（HBOT）已被证明能有效提高特发性突发性聋（ISSHL）患者的听力水平；然而，其潜在机制尚不清楚。HBOT 通过 Toll 样受体（TLR）4 和核因子（NF）-κB 减轻炎症反应。在这项研究中，我们研究了 HBOT 是否能减轻 ISHHL 患者的炎症反应，改变 TLR4 和 NF-κB 的表达。
本研究纳入了 120 例 ISSHL 患者和 20 例健康对照者。患者随机分为仅接受药物治疗的药物组（n = 60）和接受 HBOT 和药物治疗的 HBO 组（n = 60）。治疗前后进行听力测试。采用 ELISA 法检测 TLR4、NF-κB 和 TNF-α 在 ISSHL 患者和健康对照组外周血中的表达。
与健康对照组相比，TLR4、NF-κB 和 TNF-α 在 ISSHL 患者中上调；治疗后水平下降，治疗后 HBO 组低于药物组（ ＜ 0.05 和 ＜ 0.01）。
HBOT 通过抑制 TLR4 和 NF-κB 信号诱导的炎症反应缓解 ISSHL 患者的听力损失。
