scholarly journals Neuroplastin genetically interacts with Cadherin 23 and the encoded isoform Np55 is sufficient for cochlear hair cell function and hearing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherylanne Newton ◽  
Fanbo Kong ◽  
Adam J Carlton ◽  
Carlos Aguilar ◽  
Andrew Parker ◽  
...  

Mammalian hearing involves the mechanoelectrical transduction (MET) of sound-induced fluid waves in the cochlea. Essential to this process are the specialised sensory cochlear cells, the inner (IHCs) and outer hair cells (OHCs). While genetic hearing loss is highly heterogeneous, understanding the requirement of each gene will lead to a better understanding of the molecular basis of hearing and also to therapeutic opportunities for deafness. The Neuroplastin (Nptn) gene, which encodes two protein isoforms Np55 and Np65, is required for hearing, and homozygous loss-of-function mutations that affect both isoforms lead to profound deafness in mice. Here we have utilised several distinct mouse models to elaborate upon the spatial, temporal, and functional requirement of Nptn for hearing. While we demonstrate that both Np55 and Np65 are present in cochlear cells, characterisation of a Np65-specific mouse knockout shows normal hearing thresholds indicating that Np65 is functionally redundant for hearing. In contrast, we find that Nptn-knockout mice have significantly reduced maximal MET currents and MET channel open probabilities in mature OHCs, with both OHCs and IHCs also failing to develop fully mature basolateral currents. Furthermore, comparing the hearing thresholds and IHC synapse structure of Nptn-knockout mice with those of mice that lack Nptn only in IHCs and OHCs shows that the majority of the auditory deficit is explained by hair cell dysfunction, with abnormal afferent synapses contributing only a small proportion of the hearing loss. Finally, we show that continued expression of NEUROPLASTIN in OHCs of adult mice is required for membrane localisation of Plasma Membrane Ca2+ ATPase 2 (PMCA2), which is essential for hearing function. Moreover, Nptn haploinsufficiency phenocopies Atp2b2 (encodes PMCA2) mutations, with heterozygous Nptn-knockout mice exhibiting hearing loss through genetic interaction with the Cdh23ahl allele. Together, our findings provide further insight to the functional requirement of Neuroplastin for mammalian hearing.

1995 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Curtin R. Mitchell ◽  
Thomas A. Creedon

A study by Penner (J Speech Hear Res 1980;23:779–86) found evidence for Impaired lateral suppression in subjects with tinnitus and sensorineural hearing loss. If lateral suppression is related to tuning curve sharpness and lateral suppression is impaired, the shape of the tuning curve should be affected. The purpose of this study was to determine whether subjects with tinnitus have psychophysical tuning curves that are different from those of subjects without tinnitus. Psychophysical tuning curves and hearing thresholds were obtained from 18 subjects, 7 with tinnitus and 11 without tinnitus. Only subjects with normal audiograms (through 8 kHz) were selected for this study. In subjects with tinnitus psychophysical tuning curves were obtained in the region pitch-matched to their tinnitus. In nontinnitus subjects psychophysical tuning curves were determined at the same frequencies as for the tinnitus subjects in a yoked-control design. The slopes of the tails and tips and the Q10 and other measures were calculated for each tuning curve. The psychophysical tuning curves in subjects with tinnitus were significantly different (0.01 level) from those of control subjects and often had hypersensitive tails and some elevated tips. These shapes of tuning curves are consistent with cochlear lesions involving the loss of outer hair cells without damage to the Inner hair cells or nerve fibers.


Development ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 127 (21) ◽  
pp. 4551-4560 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.L. Zheng ◽  
J. Shou ◽  
F. Guillemot ◽  
R. Kageyama ◽  
W.Q. Gao

Hair cell fate determination in the inner ear has been shown to be controlled by specific genes. Recent loss-of-function and gain-of-function experiments have demonstrated that Math1, a mouse homolog of the Drosophila gene atonal, is essential for the production of hair cells. To identify genes that may interact with Math1 and inhibit hair cell differentiation, we have focused on Hes1, a mammalian hairy and enhancer of split homolog, which is a negative regulator of neurogenesis. We report here that targeted deletion of Hes1 leads to formation of supernumerary hair cells in the cochlea and utricle of the inner ear. RT-PCR analysis shows that Hes1 is expressed in inner ear during hair cell differentiation and its expression is maintained in adulthood. In situ hybridization with late embryonic inner ear tissue reveals that Hes1 is expressed in supporting cells, but not hair cells, of the vestibular sensory epithelium. In the cochlea, Hes1 is selectively expressed in the greater epithelial ridge and lesser epithelial ridge regions which are adjacent to inner and outer hair cells. Co-transfection experiments in postnatal rat explant cultures show that overexpression of Hes1 prevents hair cell differentiation induced by Math1. Therefore Hes1 can negatively regulate hair cell differentiation by antagonizing Math1. These results suggest that a balance between Math1 and negative regulators such as Hes1 is crucial for the production of an appropriate number of inner ear hair cells.


2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 135-139
Author(s):  
Jodee A Pride ◽  
David R Cunningham

Percussionists can be exposed to intermittent sound stimuli that exceed 145 dB SPL, although damage may occur to the outer hair cells at levels of 120 dB SPL. The present study measured distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) in a group of 86 normal-hearing percussionists and 39 normal-hearing nonpercussionists. Results indicate that normal-hearing percussionists have lower DPOAE amplitudes than normal-hearing nonpercussionists. DPOAE amplitudes were significantly lower at 6000 Hz in both the left and right ears for percussionists. Percussionists also more frequently had absent DPOAEs, with the greatest differences occurring at 6000 Hz (absent DPOAEs in 25% of percussionists vs 10% of nonpercussionists). When all frequencies are considered as a group, 33% of the percussionists had an absent DPOAE in either ear at some frequency, compared to only 23% of the nonpercussionists. Otoacoustic emissions are more sensitive to outer hair cell damage than pure-tone threshold measurements and can serve as an important measurement of sensory loss (i.e., outer hair cell damage) in musicians before the person perceives the hearing loss. DPOAE monitoring for musicians, along with appropriate education and intervention, might help prevent or minimize music-induced hearing loss.


2020 ◽  
Vol 319 (3) ◽  
pp. C569-C578
Author(s):  
Bei Chen ◽  
Hongen Xu ◽  
Yanfang Mi ◽  
Wei Jiang ◽  
Dan Guo ◽  
...  

Mutations in connexin 30 (Cx30) are known to cause severe congenital hearing impairment; however, the mechanism by which Cx30 mediates homeostasis of endocochlear gap junctions is unclear. We used a gene deletion mouse model to explore the mechanisms of Cx30 in preventing hearing loss. Our results suggest that despite severe loss of the auditory brain-stem response and endocochlear potential at postnatal day 18, Cx30−/− mice only show sporadic loss of the outer hair cells. This inconsistency in the time course and severity of hearing and hair cell losses in Cx30−/− mice might be explained, in part, by an increase in reactive oxygen species generation beginning at postnatal day 10. The expression of oxidative stress genes was increased in Cx30−/− mice in the stria vascularis, spiral ligament, and organ of Corti. Furthermore, Cx30 deficiency caused mitochondrial dysfunction at postnatal day 18, as assessed by decreased ATP levels and decreased expression of mitochondrial complex I proteins, especially in the stria vascularis. Proteomic analysis further identified 444 proteins that were dysregulated in Cx30−/− mice, including several that are involved in mitochondria electron transport, ATP synthesis, or ion transport. Additionally, proapoptotic proteins, including Bax, Bad, and caspase-3, were upregulated at postnatal day 18, providing a molecular basis to explain the loss of hearing that occurs before hair cell loss. Therefore, our results are consistent with an environment of oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage in the cochlea of Cx30−/− mice that is coincident with hearing loss but precedes hair cell loss.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Felicia Gilels ◽  
Stephen T. Paquette ◽  
Holly J. Beaulac ◽  
Anwen Bullen ◽  
Patricia M. White

2009 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 328-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Grillet ◽  
Martin Schwander ◽  
Michael S. Hildebrand ◽  
Anna Sczaniecka ◽  
Anand Kolatkar ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengcheng Xu ◽  
Longhao Wang ◽  
Hu Peng ◽  
Huihui Liu ◽  
Hongchao Liu ◽  
...  

Mutations in a number of genes encoding mitochondrial aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases lead to non-syndromic and/or syndromic sensorineural hearing loss in humans, while their cellular and physiological pathology in cochlea has rarely been investigated in vivo. In this study, we showed that histidyl-tRNA synthetase HARS2, whose deficiency is associated with Perrault syndrome 2 (PRLTS2), is robustly expressed in postnatal mouse cochlea including the outer and inner hair cells. Targeted knockout of Hars2 in mouse hair cells resulted in delayed onset (P30), rapidly progressive hearing loss similar to the PRLTS2 hearing phenotype. Significant hair cell loss was observed starting from P45 following elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and activated mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Despite of normal ribbon synapse formation, whole-cell patch clamp of the inner hair cells revealed reduced calcium influx and compromised sustained synaptic exocytosis prior to the hair cell loss at P30, consistent with the decreased supra-threshold wave I amplitudes of the auditory brainstem response. Starting from P14, increasing proportion of morphologically abnormal mitochondria was observed by transmission electron microscope, exhibiting swelling, deformation, loss of cristae and emergence of large intrinsic vacuoles that are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. Though the mitochondrial abnormalities are more prominent in inner hair cells, it is the outer hair cells suffering more severe cell loss. Taken together, our results suggest that conditional knockout of Hars2 in mouse cochlear hair cells leads to accumulating mitochondrial dysfunction and ROS stress, triggers progressive hearing loss highlighted by hair cell synaptopathy and apoptosis, and is differentially perceived by inner and outer hair cells.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie K. Climer ◽  
Aubrey J. Hornak ◽  
Kaitlin Murtha ◽  
Yang Yang ◽  
Andrew M. Cox ◽  
...  

Ca2+ signaling is a major contributor to sensory hair cell function in the cochlea. Oncomodulin (OCM) is a Ca2+ binding protein (CaBP) preferentially expressed in outer hair cells (OHCs) of the cochlea and few other specialized cell types. Here, we expand on our previous reports and show that OCM delays hearing loss in mice of two different genetic backgrounds: CBA/CaJ and C57Bl/6J. In both backgrounds, genetic disruption of Ocm leads to early progressive hearing loss as measured by auditory brainstem response (ABR) and distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE). In both strains, loss of Ocm reduced hearing across lifetime (hearing span) by more than 50% relative to wild type (WT). Even though the two WT strains have very different hearing spans, OCM plays a considerable and similar role within their genetic environment to regulate hearing function. The accelerated age-related hearing loss (ARHL) of the Ocm KO illustrates the importance of Ca2+ signaling in maintaining hearing health. Manipulation of OCM and Ca2+ signaling may reveal important clues to the systems of function/dysfunction that lead to ARHL.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258158
Author(s):  
Neil J. Ingham ◽  
Navid Banafshe ◽  
Clarisse Panganiban ◽  
Julia L. Crunden ◽  
Jing Chen ◽  
...  

Age-related hearing loss in humans (presbycusis) typically involves impairment of high frequency sensitivity before becoming progressively more severe at lower frequencies. Pathologies initially affecting lower frequency regions of hearing are less common. Here we describe a progressive, predominantly low-frequency recessive hearing impairment in two mutant mouse lines carrying different mutant alleles of the Klhl18 gene: a spontaneous missense mutation (Klhl18lowf) and a targeted mutation (Klhl18tm1a(KOMP)Wtsi). Both males and females were studied, and the two mutant lines showed similar phenotypes. Threshold for auditory brainstem responses (ABR; a measure of auditory nerve and brainstem neural activity) were normal at 3 weeks old but showed progressive increases from 4 weeks onwards. In contrast, distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) sensitivity and amplitudes (a reflection of cochlear outer hair cell function) remained normal in mutants. Electrophysiological recordings from the round window of Klhl18lowf mutants at 6 weeks old revealed 1) raised compound action potential thresholds that were similar to ABR thresholds, 2) cochlear microphonic potentials that were normal compared with wildtype and heterozygous control mice and 3) summating potentials that were reduced in amplitude compared to control mice. Scanning electron microscopy showed that Klhl18lowf mutant mice had abnormally tapering of the tips of inner hair cell stereocilia in the apical half of the cochlea while their synapses appeared normal. These results suggest that Klhl18 is necessary to maintain inner hair cell stereocilia and normal inner hair cell function at low frequencies.


2011 ◽  
Vol 125 (8) ◽  
pp. 786-794 ◽  
Author(s):  
I de Almeida-Silva ◽  
J A A de Oliveira ◽  
M Rossato ◽  
F Fiacadori Salata ◽  
M A Hyppolito

AbstractBackground:High sodium salicylate doses can cause reversible hearing loss and tinnitus, possibly due to reduced outer hair cell electromotility. Sodium salicylate is known to alter outer hair cell structure and function. This study determined the reversibility and cochlear recovery time after administration of an ototoxic sodium salicylate dose to guinea pigs with normal cochlear function.Study design:Prospective experimental investigation.Methods:All animals received a single 500 mg sodium salicylate dose, but with different durations of action. Function was evaluated before drug administration and immediately before sacrifice. Cochleae were processed and viewed using scanning electron microscopy.Results:Changes in outer hair cell function were observed to be present 2 hours after drug administration, with recovery of normal anatomy beginning after 24 hours. Subsequently, derangement and distortion of cilia reduced, with effects predominantly in row three. At 168 hours, cilia were near-normal but with mild distortions which interfered with normal cochlear physiology.Conclusions:Ciliary changes persisted for up to 168 hours after ototoxic sodium salicylate administration.


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