Hearing Toxicity Induced by Tripterygium Glycosides in Zebrafish

Tripterygium glycosides (TG) is isolated from an extensively used traditional Chinese medicine herb tripterygium roots and has been extensively used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, nephrotic syndrome, hyperthyroidism and other diseases due to its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects. Hearing toxicity has been recently associated with TG use in human patients. In this study, authors assessed hearing toxicity and possible molecular toxic mechanisms of TG in a whole animal model. The maximum non-lethal concentration (MNLC) of TG on the zebrafish was 21 mg/L. TG induced zebrafish hair cell loss in a dose-dependent manner (p