Correlation between serum GJB2 expression and cochlear function in patients with sudden deafness

Objective: To investigate the expression level of serum GJB2 in patients with sudden deafness and its correlation with cochlear function. Methods: A total of 78 patients with sudden deafness were selected as the observation group,and divided into a normal cochlear function group and an abnormal cochlear function group according to the cochlear function of patients.Another 60 health examinees with normal hearing during the same period were set as the control group.The relative expression level of serum GJB2 mRNA was detected by qRT-PCR.ROC curve was drawn to analyze the diagnostic value of serum GJB2 for sudden deafness and its evaluation value for cochlear function.Logistic regression analysis was applied to evaluate the influencing factors of cochlear function in patients with sudden deafness. Results: The serum GJB2 mRNA level in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.01),and the serum GJB2 mRNA level of patients in the abnormal cochlear function group was significantly lower than that in the normal cochlear function group (P<0.01).ROC curve analysis showed that the AUC,sensitivity,specificity,and optimal cutoff value of serum GJB2 for diagnosing sudden deafness were 0.781,92.31%,61.67%,and 1.02,respectively;the AUC,sensitivity,specificity,and optimal cutoff value of serum GJB2 for predicting cochlear dysfunction were 0.799,65.91%,85.29%,and 0.91,respectively.Logistic regression analysis showed that downregulated GJB2 levels was an influencing factor of cochlear dysfunction in patients with sudden deafness (P<0.05). Conclusions: The serum GJB2 level in patients with sudden deafness is downregulated,which is closely related to the cochlear function of the patients.Therefore,GJB2 can be used as a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of sudden deafness and evaluation of cochlear function.