Ototoxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics in mice, HEI-OC1 cells and zebrafish.

Polystyrene nanoplastics are a novel class of pollutants. They are easily absorbed by living organisms, and their potential toxicity has raised concerns. However, the impact of polystyrene nanoplastics on auditory organs remains unknown.

MiR-29a-deficiency causes thickening of the basilar membrane and age-related hearing loss by upregulating collagen IV and laminin.

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is the most common sensory degenerative disease and can significantly impact the quality of life in elderly people. A previous study using GeneChip miRNA microarray assays showed that the expression of miR-29a changes with age, however, its role in hearing loss is still unclear. In this study, we characterized the cochlear phenotype of miR-29a knockout () mice and found that miR-29a-deficient mice had a rapid progressive elevation of the hearing threshold from 2 to 5 months of age compared with littermate controls as measured by the auditory brainstem response.

Ferroptosis is involved in PGPS-induced otitis media in C57BL/6 mice.

Otitis media (OM) is a common disease that can cause hearing loss in children. Currently, the main clinical treatment for OM is antibiotics, but the overuse of antibiotics might lead to bacterial resistance, which is a worldwide public health challenge. Studying the pathogenesis of OM will help us develop new effective treatments.

Autophagy Contributes to the Rapamycin-Induced Improvement of Otitis Media.

Otitis media (OM) is a pervasive disease that involves hearing loss and severe complications. In our previous study, we successfully established a mouse model of human OM using (TLR2) mice with middle ear (ME) inoculation of streptococcal peptidoglycan-polysaccharide (PGPS). In this study, we found that hearing loss and OM infections in OM mice were significantly alleviated after treatment with rapamycin (RPM), a widely used mechanistic target of RPM complex 1 (mTORC1) inhibitor and autophagy inducer.