Guinea pig inner ear antigens: Extraction and application to the study of human autoimmune inner ear disease

In this study, the authors attempted to develop a method of extracting guinea pig inner ear antigens for otoimmunological research, and to investigate the distribution of the antigens in the various structures of the inner ear. The antigens were extracted either from the entire or from various parts of the guinea pig inner ear. These antigens were separated on sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) gels. Western blot techniques were used to test sera from patients with inner ear disease against guinea pig inner ear protein extracts. It was found that the various molecular weight antigens in the inner ear were associated with the different structures of the inner ear. The sera of 37.5% (N=80) of patients reacted with two bands (30 and 58 kd) of the guinea pig inner ear immunoblots. The 58kd band was not specific to the inner ear, but instead was also found in the immunoblots of other guinea pig tissues (brain, lung, and liver). This study suggests that the various antigens of interest could be further extracted and purified from the corresponding locations of the inner ear.