Dose-dependent effects of D-methionine for rescuing noise-induced permanent threshold shift in guinea-pigs

The purpose of this study was to examine the dose-response effectiveness of d-methionine (d-met) in rescuing a noise-induced permanent threshold shift (PTS) and cochlear biochemistry following noise exposure. One hour after being exposed to continuous broadband white noise at 105dB sound pressure level (SPL) for 6h, guinea-pigs were treated five times at 12-h intervals with 200, 400, or 600mg/kg d-met or sterile 0.9% saline (each group, N=6) by intraperitoneal injection. Six guinea-pigs with normal hearing that were not exposed to noise served as control animals. Although administration of d-met 200mg/kg did not significantly reduce the mean PTS, treatment with d-met 600mg/kg achieved a complete rescue response. The level of rescue from noise-induced PTS following treatment with 200, 400, or 600mg/kg d-met was dose dependent. The attenuation of the noise-induced decreases in the activities of the Na(+), K(+)-ATPase and Ca(2+)-ATPase following treatment with 200, 400, or 600mg/kg d-met was also dose dependent. Likewise, d-met-dose-dependent decreases in mean lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide levels were observed in the d-met treated groups. Significant attenuation of increased oxidative stress and decreased ATPase activities was concurrent with the d-met-mediated improvements in noise-induced auditory dysfunction.