IL1R2 and glucocorticoid responsiveness in patients with AIED

Glucocorticoid responsive AIED patients demonstrate alternate splicing of IL1R2 in response to dexamethasone prior to treatment. Identification of IL1R2 as a potential target gene in AIED was determined by a microarray analysis of patients with end-stage AIED and controls with non-immunologic etiologies of hearing loss undergoing cochlear implantation. Patients with either end-stage AIED or controls with non-immunologic etiologies of hearing loss undergoing cochlear implantation were enrolled. All patients received pneumovax 2 weeks prior to surgery. At the time of surgery, blood was taken for PBMC isolation and autologous perilymph was harvested from a bloodless field. For each patient, 3 microarrays were performed: (1) unstimulated PBMC, (2) pneumovax stimulated PBMC, (3) autologous perilymph stimulated PBMC. All conditions were compared for the AIED and control subjects. IL1R2 was identified as induced in controls, but not AIED patients, in response to autologous perilymph. Findings were confirmed by QPCR.