Tramadol-induced apoptosis in auditory hair cells of adult male rats

Maryam Mehranpour; Helia Azimi; Mohammad-Amin Abdollahifar; Meysam Hassani Moghaddam; Neda Eskandari; Kimia Vakili; Mobina Fathi; Ali Asghar Peyvandi; Abbas Aliaghaei

doi:10.1016/j.jchemneu.2022.102172

Tramadol-induced apoptosis in auditory hair cells of adult male rats

J Chem Neuroanat. 2022 Dec:126:102172. doi: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2022.102172. Epub 2022 Oct 21.

Authors

Maryam Mehranpour¹, Helia Azimi², Mohammad-Amin Abdollahifar², Meysam Hassani Moghaddam³, Neda Eskandari³, Kimia Vakili⁴, Mobina Fathi⁴, Ali Asghar Peyvandi⁵, Abbas Aliaghaei⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
² Department of Biology and Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
³ Department of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁵ Hearing Disorders Research Center, Loghman Hakim Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: peyvandi@sbmu.ac.ir.
⁶ Department of Biology and Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Hearing Disorders Research Center, Loghman Hakim Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: aghaei60@gmail.com.

PMID: 36280114
DOI: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2022.102172

Abstract

Reports have emerged on the sudden opioid-induced auditory hearing loss, and the underlying pathology is not fully understood. The present study aimed to determine the mechanism of action of these drugs in the inner ear. For this purpose, 20 rats were treated with 50 mg/kg tramadol daily for three weeks. Next, the stereological and immunohistochemical alteration of the inner hair cells under chronic exposure to tramadol was evaluated. The results revealed that tramadol induced hair cell degeneration and decreased bipolar neurons of the spiral ganglion and the thickness of stria vascularis. Moreover, immunohistochemistry showed that tramadol caused apoptosis in inner hair cells and bipolar neurons. These findings indicate that tramadol induces apoptosis in auditory hair cells, suggesting that tramadol may cause hearing loss and ototoxicity.

Keywords: Apoptosis; Auditory hair cell; Hearing loss; Inner ear; Tramadol.

MeSH terms

Animals
Apoptosis
Hair Cells, Auditory
Hearing Loss* / pathology
Male
Rats
Stria Vascularis / pathology
Tramadol* / toxicity

Substances

Tramadol