NG-methyl-L-arginine protects the guinea pig cochlea from the cytotoxic effects of pneumolysin.

Sensorineural hearing loss is a major sequela of the bacterial meningitis associated in particular with Streptococcus pneumoniae. Recent studies have shown pneumolysin, a toxin elaborated by S. pneumoniae, to be cytotoxic to the guinea pig cochlea. The mechanisms of this cytotoxicity are, however, not fully understood. In the present study this deleterious action of pneumolysin has been shown to be blocked by pretreating the cochlea with NG-methyl-L-arginine, a known inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis. Furthermore, pretreatment of the cochlea with MK-801, an NMDA receptor antagonist, was also found to confer marked protection from the action of pneumolysin. This latter finding is consistent with previous reports that excess stimulation of NMDA receptors within the cochlea, an event known to lead to excess nitric oxide release, have similar effects on the cochlea as pneumolysin perfusion. It would therefore appear that nitric oxide may represent a significant link in the chain of events leading to the deafness of bacterial meningitis.