Hydrogen protects vestibular hair cells from free radicals

Abstract

Conclusion: Hydrogen gas effectively protected against the morphological and functional vestibular hair cell damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Objective: ROS are generally produced by oxidative stress. In the inner ear, ROS levels increase as a result of noise trauma and ototoxic drugs and induce damage. It is thus important to control ROS levels in the inner ear. The protective effects of hydrogen gas in cochlear hair cells have been reported previously. Methods: This study examined the effects of hydrogen gas on mouse vestibular hair cell damage by ROS using antimycin A. Results: In the group *exposed to hydrogen gas, vestibular hair cells were morphologically well preserved and their mechano-electrical transduction activities were relatively well maintained when compared with controls. Hydroxyphenyl fluorescein (HPF) fluorescence in vestibular tissue was also reduced by hydrogen gas.

Keywords::

• Reactive oxygen species
• vestibular hair cells
• mechano-electrical transduction

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a Health and Labor Science Research Grant for Research on Specific Disease (Vestibular Disorders) from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan (2009).

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.