Korean J Otolaryngol-Head Neck Surg.  2002 Jun;45(6):574-578.

Immune-mediated Inner Ear Dysfunction Caused by Histones, as Planted Target Antigens

• Park KY
• Cho CS
• Kim JW
• Lee GW
• Lee CH
• Hozawa K
• Takasaka T

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Histones, a set of highly cationic proteins essentially involved in the binding and packing of DNA in the cell nucleus chromatin, have five subclasses (H1, H2a, H2b, H3, H4) in mammalian animals. These components play the most important role in producing autoantibody in SLE and etc. Some studies proposed that there were a relationship between the activity of the disease and the titer of these autoantibody. Recently, histones were revealed to be involved in the immune deposit on GBM in MRL/lpr mice, and cause immune-mediated glomerulonephritis in normal animals.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We examined IgG deposition on the basement membrane of strial capillaries and recorded the endocochlear potential from the basal turn by an electrode inserted though the round window in guinea pigs which was injected by histone(H2a) and anti-histone antisera.
RESULTS
IgG depositions were seen on the basement membrane of stria capillaries. IgG was also found to be accumulated on the extravascular side of the basement membrane. However, C3 was almost never observed in the stria vascularis of histone and the anti-histone antisera injected group. In these animals, intracellular edema was evident in the stria vascularis especially at the second and more apical turns but no inflammatory cell infiltration was present. The signifcant decrease in EP was observed just after the injection of anti-histone antisera in the animals receiving an intra-arterial injection of histones.
CONCLUSION
This study indicated that cationic antigen could be trapped on the negatively charged basement membrane of strial capillaries, leading to the in situ immune complex formation, and eventually causing immune-mediated hearing loss.

Keyword

Histones; Antigen-Antibody complex; Stria vascularis; Glomerulonephritis; Basement membrane

MeSH Terms

Animals
Antigen-Antibody Complex
Basement Membrane
Capillaries
Cell Nucleus
Chromatin
DNA
Ear, Inner*
Edema
Electrodes
Glomerulonephritis
Guinea Pigs
Hearing Loss
Histones*
Immune Sera
Immunoglobulin G
Injections, Intra-Arterial
Mice
Plants*
Stria Vascularis
Antigen-Antibody Complex
Chromatin
DNA
Histones
Immune Sera
Immunoglobulin G