Active Research

Principal Investigator: Steven Hefeneider, PhD

Objective: To develop an animal model of viral labyrinthitis and determine the impact of immune suppression therapies on the progression and extent of hearing loss and to examine the effect of peptide P13 therapy on viral induced inner ear inflammation.

Background: Viral infection has been reported as an underlying cause of sudden sensorineural hearing loss by induction of inner ear inflammation. Inflammatory cytokines produced in response to viral disease may interrupt the hair cell and ion homeostatic pathways in the cochlea, resulting in a decrease in function and eventual death of hair cells. Recently, a protein from vaccinia virus, termed A52R was reported to inhibit intracellular signaling initiated by the interaction of the two proteins, PAMP and TLR, reducing secretion of proinflammatory cytokines produced by immune cells in response to bacterial and viral products.

Findings: Peptide derivatives from the A52R protein were generated. The P13 peptide demonstrated significant inhibition of in vitro cytokine production in response to bacterial and viral components. Both bacterial and viral products activated the same intracellular pro-inflammatory pathway, via TLRs.