Ameliorative effect of purple bamboo salt-pharmaceutical acupuncture on cisplatin-induced ototoxicity

Abstract

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that purple bamboo salt (PBS)-pharmaceutical acupuncture has an ameliorative effect on cisplatin-induced ototoxicity. Objectives: We have previously reported that PBS exhibited anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory actions in vitro and in vivo. Pharmaceutical acupuncture is a traditional oriental therapeutic technique that combines acupuncture with herbal treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect and mechanism of PBS-pharmaceutical acupuncture against cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in the auditory cell line, HEI-OC1, and in vivo. Methods: The ELISA method, a caspase-3 assay, an MTT assay, Western blot analysis, and a luciferase assay were utilized to investigate the effect of PBS in vivo and in vitro. Results: When it was acupunctured at the Ermen acupoint (triple energizer meridian 21) after an administration of cisplatin, PBS-pharmaceutical acupuncture significantly suppressed interleukin (IL)-6 production and caspase-3 activation induced by cisplatin in the cochlea. In addition, PBS significantly inhibited cisplatin-induced apoptosis and IL-6 production in HEI-OC1 cells. PBS also suppressed cytochrome c release and caspase-3 activation, and it inhibited extracellular signal-related kinase and nuclear factor-κB activation in HEI-OC1 cells.

Keywords::

• Caspase-3
• interleukin-6
• extracellular signal-related kinase
• nuclear factor-κB

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (no. 2005-0049404).

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