The Neurobiology of Hearing group of the Alberto Sols CSIC-UAM Biomedical Research Institute & unit 761 of the Rare Diseases Network Biomedical Research Center (CIBERER), led by Prof. Isabel Varela Nieto, and the Medical Chemistry Laboratory of the CSIC Institute of General Organic Chemistry, led by Prof. José Luis Marco Contelles, has just published a collaborative work in which the properties of nitrones are reviewed, highlighting their enormous potential for treating hearing loss.
Nitrones are a family of small molecules with a strong free-radicals trapping activity and a high capacity to reduce oxidative stress, which have shown a powerful neuroprotective effect in mouse and rat models of cerebral ischemia. Oxidative stress is also a critical mechanism in the pathophysiology of hearing loss, both of genetic origin and secondary to noise damage, exposure to ototoxic drugs, or aging. The two CSIC research groups collaborate closely in the development of new nitrones and in their preclinical evaluation in in vitro and in vivo models of auditory damage, with the aim of selecting and characterizing those with the best therapeutic profile.
These studies are part of the R + D + I work "NITROPROHEAR_Proof of concept to determine the effect of Cholesterolnitrone F2 in the treatment of Presbycusis", co-financed by the Fundación General CSIC (FGCSIC) as part of the European project "Programa para una Sociedad Longeva, PSL (0551_PLS_6_E)" of the Interreg VA Spain-Protugal Cooperation Program (POCTEP) 2014-2020 within the framework of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
For more information: Varela-Nieto I, Murillo-Cuesta S, Rodriguez-de la Rosa L, Oset-Gasque MJ and Marco-Contelles J (2021). Use of Radical Oxygen Species Scavenger Nitrones to Treat Oxidative Stress-Mediated Hearing Loss: State of the Art and Challenges. Front. Cell. Neurosci. 15:711269. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2021.711269