ABSTRACT
Recent data have focused on the peripheral nerve myelin glycoprotein P0 as a putative autoantigen involved in the autoimmune etiology of some cases of Meniere's disease, idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss and sudden deafness. To determine whether antibodies to myelin P0 can alter cochlear function, 13 healthy guinea pigs were immunized with purified porcine myelin P0 while 10 controls were injected with saline water. The animals were then evaluated for evidence of evolving inner ear disease using immunological, electrophysiological and morphological methods. Twenty-six experimental ears were tested weekly with a brainstem auditory evoked potential technique for a period of 4 months and were compared to 20 control ears. Uniformly, all P0-sensitized guinea pigs showed antibodies to myelin protein P0 as evidenced by ELISA. Clinical signs of inflammatory demyelination were not discernible in P0-sensitized guinea pigs and all the animals were qualitatively normal. No significant increase of evoked potential thresholds was found in the P0-sensitized animals when compared to controls (P>0.05). Peak latencies of waves I, II, III, IV and V and inter-peak latencies in P0-sensitized guinea pigs did not significantly differ from those of controls (P>0.05). Histological sections of inner ear and peripheral nerves were free of disease in both groups. These findings indicate that the sole presence of antibodies to myelin P0 in the sera of guinea pigs or patients suspected of having autoimmune inner ear diseases is unlikely to elicit auditory abnormalities and that additional factors are necessary for the pathogenic development of these disorders.