Prostaglandins in the perilymph of guinea pig with type II collagen induced ear diseases

The authors have studied the prostaglandins (PGs) in the perilymph from guinea pig with type II collagen induced autoimmune ear disease. Hartly guinea pigs were immunized with type II collagen in CFA and auditory brain stem responses (ABR) were measured at 2, 3, 4, and 6 months after initial immunization perilymph was obtained and the levels of PGE2 and 6 keto-PGFlα were measured by radioimmunoassays. Temporal bones were examined for the histopathologic changes. Immunized guinea pigs showed the evidence of hearing loss by ABR. The temporal bones showed the following changes: spiral ganglia degeneration, mild to moderate degree of degeneration in organ of Corti, infrequent very mild endolymphatic hydrops and labrynthitis. The perilymph from immunized animals contained about 5 times more PGE2 and about 3 times more 6 keto-PGFlα than control animals. However, between these two groups, there was no difference in the CSF and sera levels of PGE2 and 6 keto-PGFlα. Thus, this study suggests that these inflammatory mediators might be involved in the pathogenesis of collagen induced autoimmune inner ear disease