Gentamicin is a common aminoglycoside antibiotic used in clinical practice. However, its use is being increasingly restricted owing to its adverse effect on the inner ear. In this study, we tried to elucidate the mechanism behind the otoprotective effects exerted by a novel active peptide from Rapana venosa in zebrafish larvae. Our results showed that the combined application of gentamicin and this novel peptide helped the sensory hair cells reduce the uptake of gentamicin and subsequently restore the expression of nuclear factor erythroid-derived-2-like 2 (Nrf2), manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD), and copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD). This, in turn, reduced excessive reactive oxygen species production and the incidence of apoptosis in sensory hair cells upon gentamicin administration. As a result, this peptide protected the sensory hair cells from gentamicin-induced loss. Our findings provide new insight into the application potential of an active peptide derived from marine food resources in the field of hearing protection.

庆大霉素是临床实践中常用的氨基糖苷类抗生素。但是，由于其对内耳的不利影响，其使用受到越来越多的限制。在这项研究中，我们试图阐明在斑马鱼幼虫中来自Rapana venosa的新型活性肽发挥耳保护作用的机制。我们的结果表明，庆大霉素和这种新型肽的组合应用有助于感觉毛细胞减少庆大霉素的摄取，并随后恢复核因子类红细胞衍生的-2-样2（Nrf2），锰超氧化物歧化酶（Mn-SOD）和铜/锌超氧化物歧化酶（Cu / Zn-SOD）。这继而减少了庆大霉素给药后过多的活性氧产生和感觉毛细胞凋亡的发生率。结果，该肽保护感觉毛细胞免受庆大霉素诱导的损失。我们的发现为从海洋食品资源中提取的活性肽在听力保护领域的应用潜力提供了新的见识。