ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Cell Death and Survival
Baicalin Attenuates Cisplatin-Induced Cochlear Hair Cell Damage by Modulating the ROS-p38 MAPK Signaling Pathway
Provisionally accepted
- 1First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- 2Lianyungang No 1 People's Hospital, Lianyungang, China
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Cisplatin-induced ototoxicity remains a major clinical challenge in chemotherapy, with limited pharmacological strategies available to prevent auditory damage. In this study, we explored the protective potential of baicalin, a flavonoid compound, against cisplatin-triggered cochlear injury. In vivo, baicalin administration in C57BL/6 mice mitigated cisplatin-induced hearing loss, as demonstrated by improvements in auditory brainstem response (ABR) and distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) thresholds, and preserved cochlear outer hair cell (OHC) structural and functional integrity. Using both House Ear Institute-Organ of Corti 1(HEI-OC1) auditory cells and cochlear explants, we found that baicalin pretreatment significantly improved cell viability and attenuated cisplatin-induced apoptosis. Mechanistically, baicalin markedly reduced mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and maintained mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), as assessed by MitoSOX Red, TMRM, and JC-1 fluorescence probes. Moreover, baicalin pretreatment effectively inhibited p38 MAPK activation, a critical mediator of ROS-induced apoptosis, as evidenced by the reversal of its effects with anisomycin and the mimicry by SB203580 at protein level. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that baicalin provides robust otoprotection against cisplatin-induced hearing loss. In vitro studies further indicate that this protective effect is associated with the attenuation of oxidative stress, maintenance of mitochondrial integrity, and inhibition of p38 MAPK – mediated apoptosis. Together, the results highlight baicalin as a promising candidate for therapeutic intervention against cisplatin-induced hearing loss.
Keywords: Apoptosis, Baicalin, Cisplatin, Cochlear hair cell, ROS/P38 MAPK signaling
Received: 09 Nov 2025; Accepted: 09 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Zhang, Wang, Zhang, Li, Yin, Zhou, Dong and Bu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Qiongmin Zhang
Chuan Bu
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