The Role of Anti-Endothelial Cell Autoantibodies and Immune Response in Acute Low-Tone Hearing Loss

Objective: Immunity is associated with acute low tone hearing loss. However, the exact pathophysiology of immunity-mediated acute low tone hearing loss remains unknown. In this study, we evaluated the presence, therapeutic effectiveness, and immunopathological mechanisms of anti-endothelial cell autoantibodies (AECEs) in patients with acute low-frequency hearing loss. Material and Methods: Forty-nine patients who were treated as inpatients having acute low-frequency hearing loss and additional symptoms, such as ear fullness, tinnitus, dizziness, or hyperacusis, were enrolled in this study. Serum samples from these patients were collected for laboratory serum autoimmunity detection, including AECAs, antinuclear antibodies, immunoglobulin, and circular immune complex. Therapeutic responses to combination therapy in short-term outcome and serum cytokine levels were compared between AECA-positive and AECA-negative patients. Results: Anti-endothelial cell autoantibodies-positive patients tended to show significantly less response to standard therapy compared with AECAs controls (P < .05). Moreover, some serum cytokine levels elevated in both AECAs- and AECAs+ groups. Positive ratio of interleukin-8 and concentrations of macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha were found higher in AECAs+ groups (P < .05). Conclusion: The results supported that AECAs might wield influence on the short-term outcome of acute low-tone hearing loss (ALHL) treatment. Furthermore, AECA-mediated acute low-frequency hearing loss possibly involved dysregulation of inflammation process and release of cytokines.