PRDX1 activates autophagy via the PTEN-AKT signaling pathway to protect against cisplatin-induced spiral ganglion neuron damage

Spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) are auditory neurons that relay sound signals from the inner ear to the brainstem. The ototoxic drug cisplatin can damage SGNs and thus lead to sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), and there are currently no methods for preventing or treating this. Macroautophagy/autophagy plays a critical role in SGN development, but the effect of autophagy on cisplatin-induced SGN injury is unclear. Here, we first found that autophagic flux was activated in SGNs after cisplatin damage. The SGN apoptosis and related hearing loss induced by cisplatin were alleviated after co-treatment with the autophagy activator rapamycin, whereas these were exacerbated by the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine, indicating that instead of inducing SGN death, autophagy played a neuroprotective role in SGNs treated with cisplatin both in vitro and in vivo. We further demonstrated that autophagy attenuated reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and alleviated cisplatin-induced oxidative stress in SGNs to mediate its protective effects. Notably, the role of the antioxidant enzyme PRDX1 (peroxiredoxin 1) in modulating autophagy in SGNs was first identified. Deficiency in PRDX1 suppressed autophagy and increased SGN loss after cisplatin exposure, while upregulating PRDX1 pharmacologically or by adeno-associated virus activated autophagy and thus inhibited ROS accumulation and apoptosis and attenuated SGN loss induced by cisplatin. Finally, we showed that the underlying mechanism through which PRDX1 triggers autophagy in SGNs was, at least partially, through activation of the PTEN-AKT signaling pathway. These findings suggest potential therapeutic targets for the amelioration of drug-induced SNHL through autophagy activation.