scholarly journals Critical role of spectrin in hearing development and deafness

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. eaav7803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Liu ◽  
Jieyu Qi ◽  
Xin Chen ◽  
Mingliang Tang ◽  
Cenfeng Chu ◽  
...  

Inner ear hair cells (HCs) detect sound through the deflection of mechanosensory stereocilia. Stereocilia are inserted into the cuticular plate of HCs by parallel actin rootlets, where they convert sound-induced mechanical vibrations into electrical signals. The molecules that support these rootlets and enable them to withstand constant mechanical stresses underpin our ability to hear. However, the structures of these molecules have remained unknown. We hypothesized that αII- and βII-spectrin subunits fulfill this role, and investigated their structural organization in rodent HCs. Using super-resolution fluorescence imaging, we found that spectrin formed ring-like structures around the base of stereocilia rootlets. These spectrin rings were associated with the hearing ability of mice. Further, HC-specific, βII-spectrin knockout mice displayed profound deafness. Overall, our work has identified and characterized structures of spectrin that play a crucial role in mammalian hearing development.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoko Tanaka ◽  
Shinobu Hirai ◽  
Hiroyuki Manabe ◽  
Kentaro Endo ◽  
Hiroko Shimbo ◽  
...  

Aging involves a decline in physiology which is a natural event in all living organisms. An accumulation of DNA damage contributes to the progression of aging. DNA is continually damaged by exogenous sources and endogenous sources. If the DNA repair pathway operates normally, DNA damage is not life threatening. However, impairments of the DNA repair pathway may result in an accumulation of DNA damage, which has a harmful effect on health and causes an onset of pathology. RP58, a zinc-finger transcriptional repressor, plays a critical role in cerebral cortex formation. Recently, it has been reported that the expression level of RP58 decreases in the aged human cortex. Furthermore, the role of RP58 in DNA damage is inferred by the involvement of DNMT3, which acts as a co-repressor for RP58, in DNA damage. Therefore, RP58 may play a crucial role in the DNA damage associated with aging. In the present study, we investigated the role of RP58 in aging. We used RP58 hetero-knockout and wild-type mice in adolescence, adulthood, or old age. We performed immunohistochemistry to determine whether microglia and DNA damage markers responded to the decline in RP58 levels. Furthermore, we performed an object location test to measure cognitive function, which decline with age. We found that the wild-type mice showed an increase in single-stranded DNA and gamma-H2AX foci. These results indicate an increase in DNA damage or dysfunction of DNA repair mechanisms in the hippocampus as age-related changes. Furthermore, we found that, with advancing age, both the wild-type and hetero-knockout mice showed an impairment of spatial memory for the object and increase in reactive microglia in the hippocampus. However, the RP58 hetero-knockout mice showed these symptoms earlier than the wild-type mice did. These results suggest that a decline in RP58 level may lead to the progression of aging.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanbo Wu ◽  
Changlong An ◽  
Xiaogao Jin ◽  
Zhaoyong Hu ◽  
Yanlin Wang

AbstractCirculating cells have a pathogenic role in the development of hypertensive nephropathy. However, how these cells infiltrate into the kidney are not fully elucidated. In this study, we investigated the role of CXCR6 in deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)/salt-induced inflammation and fibrosis of the kidney. Following uninephrectomy, wild-type and CXCR6 knockout mice were treated with DOCA/salt for 3 weeks. Blood pressure was similar between wild-type and CXCR6 knockout mice at baseline and after treatment with DOCA/salt. Wild-type mice develop significant kidney injury, proteinuria, and kidney fibrosis after three weeks of DOCA/salt treatment. CXCR6 deficiency ameliorated kidney injury, proteinuria, and kidney fibrosis following treatment with DOCA/salt. Moreover, CXCR6 deficiency inhibited accumulation of bone marrow–derived fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in the kidney following treatment with DOCA/salt. Furthermore, CXCR6 deficiency markedly reduced the number of macrophages and T cells in the kidney after DOCA/salt treatment. In summary, our results identify a critical role of CXCR6 in the development of inflammation and fibrosis of the kidney in salt-sensitive hypertension.


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 2326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hisham F. Bahmad ◽  
Reem Daouk ◽  
Joseph Azar ◽  
Jiranuwat Sapudom ◽  
Jeremy C. M. Teo ◽  
...  

Adipose tissue is contemplated as a dynamic organ that plays key roles in the human body. Adipogenesis is the process by which adipocytes develop from adipose-derived stem cells to form the adipose tissue. Adipose-derived stem cells’ differentiation serves well beyond the simple goal of producing new adipocytes. Indeed, with the current immense biotechnological advances, the most critical role of adipose-derived stem cells remains their tremendous potential in the field of regenerative medicine. This review focuses on examining the physiological importance of adipogenesis, the current approaches that are employed to model this tightly controlled phenomenon, and the crucial role of adipogenesis in elucidating the pathophysiology and potential treatment modalities of human diseases. The future of adipogenesis is centered around its crucial role in regenerative and personalized medicine.


Soft Matter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elahe Javadi ◽  
Safa Jamali

The crucial role of hemorheological characteristics of blood in a range of diagnoses, treatments and drug delivery mechanisms is widely accepted. Nonetheless, the literature on blood rheology remains inconclusive and...


2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 771-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao Zhang ◽  
Yajun Cheng ◽  
Gert H. Hansen ◽  
Lise-Lotte Niels-Christiansen ◽  
Frank Koentgen ◽  
...  

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 3020-3027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitra Gkika ◽  
Yu-Juei Hsu ◽  
Annemiete W. van der Kemp ◽  
Sylvia Christakos ◽  
René J. Bindels ◽  
...  

PLoS ONE ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. e0145513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Marc Freichel ◽  
Frank van der Hoeven ◽  
Peter Paul Nawroth ◽  
Hugo Katus ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 121 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Axel E Kraft ◽  
Viacheslav O Nikolaev ◽  
Marco Conti

Phosphodiesterase subfamilies 4B and 4D are critically involved in the regulation of cAMP signaling in mammalian cardiomyocytes. Alterations in activity of these enzymes in human hearts have been shown to result in arrhythmia and heart failure. The aim of this project was to systematically investigate specific roles of PDE4B and PDE4D in regulating cAMP dynamics in three distinct subcellular microdomains formed around Ca 2+ handling proteins, such as L-type calcium channels (LTCCs), sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca 2+ -ATPase (SERCA) and ryanodine receptors (RyRs), to understand their impact on heart function and disease. Transgenic mice expressing three different Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) based cAMP biosensors targeted to caveolin rich plasma membrane, SERCA and RyR microdomains, were crossed with PDE4B and PDE4D knockout mice. Using FRET imaging in ventricular cardiomyocytes freshly isolated from wildtype and knockout mice, direct analysis of the specific effect of both PDE subfamilies in these microdomains could be performed by measuring the kinetics of local cAMP degradation. Our results indicate that the cAMP kinetics around the LTCC microdomain is critically regulated by PDE4B and PDE4D. So far was it has been known that the isoform that is associated with the RyR microdomain belongs to the PDE4D family, however we found PDE4B to be involved in regulating the cAMP signaling in this microdomain. PDE4D deletion also revealed the critical role of this subfamily for the control of cAMP dynamics in the SERCA microdomain of adult mouse cardiomyocytes. Basal levels of cAMP were elevated when PDE4B was absent from any of the PDE4B-regulated microdomain, whereas no such alterations were detected for PDE4D knockout cells. These data demonstrate that all three microdomains are differentially regulated by PDEs. Even within one organelle such as sarcoplasmic reticulum, we could show the existence of at least two distinct cAMP microdomains, i.e. around RyR and SERCA which are preferentially controlled by PDE4B and PDE4D, respectively. In the future, we aim to systematically analyze biochemical composition of the three microdomains, their distinct roles in cardiac function and disease as well as ways of their pharmacological modulation.


Endocrinology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 153 (1) ◽  
pp. 241-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kalista ◽  
O. Schakman ◽  
H. Gilson ◽  
P. Lause ◽  
B. Demeulder ◽  
...  

Myostatin inhibition by follistatin (FS) offers a new approach for muscle mass enhancement. The aim of the present study was to characterize the mediators responsible for the FS hypertrophic action on skeletal muscle in male mice. Because IGF-I and IGF-II, two crucial skeletal muscle growth factors, are induced by myostatin inhibition, we assessed their role in FS action. First, we tested whether type 1 IGF receptor (IGF-IR) is required for FS-induced hypertrophy. By using mice expressing a dominant-negative IGF-IR in skeletal muscle, we showed that IGF-IR inhibition blunted by 63% fiber hypertrophy caused by FS. Second, we showed that FS caused the same degree of fiber hypertrophy in wild-type and IGF-II knockout mice. We then tested the role of the signaling molecules stimulated by IGF-IR, in particular the Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/70-kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase (S6K) pathway. We investigated whether Akt phosphorylation is required for the FS action. By cotransfecting a dominant-negative form of Akt together with FS, we showed that Akt inhibition reduced by 65% fiber hypertrophy caused by FS. Second, we evaluated the role of mTOR in FS action. Fiber hypertrophy induced by FS was reduced by 36% in rapamycin-treated mice. Finally, because the activity of S6K is increased by FS, we tested its role in FS action. FS caused the same degree of fiber hypertrophy in wild-type and S6K1/2 knockout mice. In conclusion, the IGF-IR/Akt/mTOR pathway plays a critical role in FS-induced muscle hypertrophy. In contrast, induction of IGF-II expression and S6K activity by FS are not required for the hypertrophic action of FS.


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