scholarly journals Deletion of Kcnj16 in Mice Does Not Alter Auditory Function

Author(s):  
Jun Lv ◽  
Xiaolong Fu ◽  
Yige Li ◽  
Guodong Hong ◽  
Peipei Li ◽  
...  

Endolymphatic potential (EP) is the main driving force behind the sensory transduction of hearing, and K+ is the main charge carrier. Kir5.1 is a K+ transporter that plays a significant role in maintaining EP homeostasis, but the expression pattern and role of Kir5.1 (which is encoded by the Kcnj16 gene) in the mouse auditory system has remained unclear. In this study, we found that Kir5.1 was expressed in the mouse cochlea. We checked the inner ear morphology and measured auditory function in Kcnj16–/– mice and found that loss of Kcnj16 did not appear to affect the development of hair cells. There was no significant difference in auditory function between Kcnj16–/– mice and wild-type littermates, although the expression of Kcnma1, Kcnq4, and Kcne1 were significantly decreased in the Kcnj16–/– mice. Additionally, no significant differences were found in the number or distribution of ribbon synapses between the Kcnj16–/– and wild-type mice. In summary, our results suggest that the Kcnj16 gene is not essential for auditory function in mice.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mian Zu ◽  
Wei-wei Guo ◽  
Tao Cong ◽  
Fei Ji ◽  
Shi-li Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The SCN11A gene, encoded Nav1.9 TTX resistant sodium channels, is a main effector in peripheral inflammation related pain in nociceptive neurons. The role of SCN11A gene in the auditory system has not been well characterized. We therefore examined the expression of SCN11A in the murine cochlea, the morphological and physiological features of Nav1.9 knockout (KO) ICR mice. Results: Nav1.9 expression was found in the primary afferent endings beneath the inner hair cells (IHCs). The relative quantitative expression of Nav1.9 mRNA in modiolus of wild-type (WT) mice remains unchanged from P0 to P60. The number of presynaptic CtBP2 puncta in Nav1.9 KO mice was significantly lower than WT. In addition, the number of SGNs in Nav1.9 KO mice in the basal turn was also lower than WT, but not in the apical and middle turns. There was no lesion in the somas and stereocilia of hair cells in Nav1.9 KO mice. Nav1.9 KO mice showed higher and progressive ABR threshold at 16 kHz, a significant increase in CAP thresholds, while no changes in cochlear microphonics (CM). Conclusions: These data suggest a role of Nav1.9 in regulating the function of ribbon synapses and the auditory nerves. The impairment induced by Nav1.9 gene deletion mimics the characters of cochlear synaptopathy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mian Zu ◽  
Wei-Wei Guo ◽  
Tao Cong ◽  
Fei Ji ◽  
Shi-Li Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The SCN11A gene, encoded Nav1.9 TTX resistant sodium channels, is a main effector in peripheral inflammation related pain in nociceptive neurons. The role of SCN11A gene in the auditory system has not been well characterized. We therefore examined the expression of SCN11A in the murine cochlea, the morphological and physiological features of Nav1.9 knockout (KO) ICR mice. Results Nav1.9 expression was found in the primary afferent endings beneath the inner hair cells (IHCs). The relative quantitative expression of Nav1.9 mRNA in modiolus of wild-type (WT) mice remains unchanged from P0 to P60. The number of presynaptic CtBP2 puncta in Nav1.9 KO mice was significantly lower than WT. In addition, the number of SGNs in Nav1.9 KO mice was also less than WT in the basal turn, but not in the apical and middle turns. There was no lesion in the somas and stereocilia of hair cells in Nav1.9 KO mice. Furthermore, Nav1.9 KO mice showed higher and progressive elevated ABR threshold at 16 kHz, and a significant increase in CAP thresholds. Conclusions These data suggest a role of Nav1.9 in regulating the function of ribbon synapses and the auditory nerves. The impairment induced by Nav1.9 gene deletion mimics the characters of cochlear synaptopathy.


2004 ◽  
Vol 50 (9) ◽  
pp. 719-727 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bochiwe Hara-Kaonga ◽  
Thomas G Pistole

Conflicting reports exist regarding the role of porins OmpC and OmpD in infections due to Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. This study investigated the role of these porins in bacterial adherence to human macrophages and intestinal epithelial cells. ompC and ompD mutant strains were created by transposon mutagenesis using P22-mediated transduction of Tn10 and Tn5 insertions, respectively, into wild-type strain 14028. Fluorescein-labeled wild-type and mutant bacteria were incubated with host cells at various bacteria to cell ratios for 1 h at 37 °C and analyzed by flow cytometry. The mean fluorescence intensity of cells with associated wild-type and mutant bacteria was used to estimate the number of bacteria bound per host cell. Adherence was also measured by fluorescence microscopy. Neither assay showed a significant difference in binding of the ompC mutant and wild-type strains to the human cells. In contrast, the ompD mutant exhibited lowered binding to both cell types. Our findings suggest that OmpD but not OmpC is involved in the recognition of Salmonella serovar Typhimurium by human macrophages and intestinal epithelial cells.Key words: Salmonella, adherence, porins, intestinal epithelial cells, macrophage.


1998 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 317-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kisun Jun ◽  
Gildon Choi ◽  
Sung-Gu Yang ◽  
Kwan Yong Choi ◽  
Hyun Kim ◽  
...  

To define the physiological role of IP33-kinase(A) in vivo, we have generated a mouse strain with a null mutation of the IP33-kinase(A) locus by gene targeting. Homozygous mutant mice were fully viable, fertile, apparently normal, and did not show any morphological anomaly in brain sections. In the mutant brain, the IP4 level was significantly decreased whereas the IP3 level did not change, demonstrating a major role of IP33-kinase(A) in the generation of IP4. Nevertheless, no significant difference was detected in the hippocampal neuronal cells of the wild-type and the mutant mice in the kinetics of Ca2+ regulation after glutamate stimulation. Electrophysiological analyses carried out in hippocampal slices showed that the mutation significantly enhanced the LTP in the hippocampal CA1 region, but had no effect on the LTP in dentate gyrus (DG). No difference was noted, however, between the mutant and the wild-type mice in the Morris water maze task. Our results indicate that IP33-kinase(A) may play an important role in the regulation of LTP in hippocampal CA1 region through the generation of IP4, but the enhanced LTP in the hippocampal CA1 does not affect spatial learning and memory.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolong Fu ◽  
Linqing Zhang ◽  
Yecheng Jin ◽  
Xiaoyang Sun ◽  
Aizhen Zhang ◽  
...  

MYH14 is a member of the myosin family, which has been implicated in many motile processes such as ion-channel gating, organelle translocation, and the cytoskeleton rearrangement. Mutations in MYH14 lead to a DFNA4-type hearing impairment. Further evidence also shows that MYH14 is a candidate noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) susceptible gene. However, the specific roles of MYH14 in auditory function and NIHL are not fully understood. In the present study, we used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to establish a Myh14 knockout mice line in CBA/CaJ background (now referred to as Myh14−/−mice) and clarify the role of MYH14 in the cochlea and NIHL. We found that Myh14−/−mice did not exhibit significant hearing loss until five months of age. In addition, Myh14−/−mice were more vulnerable to high intensity noise compared to control mice. More significant outer hair cell loss was observed in Myh14−/−mice than in wild type controls after acoustic trauma. Our findings suggest that Myh14 may play a beneficial role in the protection of the cochlea after acoustic overstimulation in CBA/CaJ mice.


2008 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 1607-1615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Drexl ◽  
Marcia M. Mellado Lagarde ◽  
Jian Zuo ◽  
Andrei N. Lukashkin ◽  
Ian J. Russell

Electrically evoked otoacoustic emissions are sounds emitted from the inner ear when alternating current is injected into the cochlea. Their temporal structure consists of short- and long-delay components and they have been attributed to the motile responses of the sensory-motor outer hair cells of the cochlea. The nature of these motile responses is unresolved and may depend on either somatic motility, hair bundle motility, or both. The short-delay component persists after almost complete elimination of outer hair cells. Outer hair cells are thus not the sole generators of electrically evoked otoacoustic emissions. We used prestin knockout mice, in which the motor protein prestin is absent from the lateral walls of outer hair cells, and Tecta ΔENT/ΔENT mice, in which the tectorial membrane, a structure with which the hair bundles of outer hair cells normally interact, is vestigial and completely detached from the organ of Corti. The amplitudes and delay spectra of electrically evoked otoacoustic emissions from Tecta ΔENT/ΔENT and Tecta +/+ mice are very similar. In comparison with prestin +/+ mice, however, the short-delay component of the emission in prestin −/− mice is dramatically reduced and the long-delay component is completely absent. Emissions are completely suppressed in wild-type and Tecta ΔENT/ΔENT mice at low stimulus levels, when prestin-based motility is blocked by salicylate. We conclude that near threshold, the emissions are generated by prestin-based somatic motility.


2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (13) ◽  
pp. 4759-4768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonnie B. Stephens ◽  
Star N. Loar ◽  
Gladys Alexandre

ABSTRACT It has previously been reported that the alpha-proteobacterium Azospirillum brasilense undergoes methylation-independent chemotaxis; however, a recent study revealed cheB and cheR genes in this organism. We have constructed cheB, cheR, and cheBR mutants of A. brasilense and determined that the CheB and CheR proteins under study significantly influence chemotaxis and aerotaxis but are not essential for these behaviors to occur. First, we found that although cells lacking CheB, CheR, or both were no longer capable of responding to the addition of most chemoattractants in a temporal gradient assay, they did show a chemotactic response (albeit reduced) in a spatial gradient assay. Second, in comparison to the wild type, cheB and cheR mutants under steady-state conditions exhibited an altered swimming bias, whereas the cheBR mutant and the che operon mutant did not. Third, cheB and cheR mutants were null for aerotaxis, whereas the cheBR mutant showed reduced aerotaxis. In contrast to the swimming bias for the model organism Escherichia coli, the swimming bias in A. brasilense cells was dependent on the carbon source present and cells released methanol upon addition of some attractants and upon removal of other attractants. In comparison to the wild type, the cheB, cheR, and cheBR mutants showed various altered patterns of methanol release upon exposure to attractants. This study reveals a significant difference between the chemotaxis adaptation system of A. brasilense and that of the model organism E. coli and suggests that multiple chemotaxis systems are present and contribute to chemotaxis and aerotaxis in A. brasilense.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Colón-Cruz ◽  
Roberto Rodriguez-Morales ◽  
Alexis Santana-Cruz ◽  
Juan Cantres-Velez ◽  
Aranza Torrado-Tapias ◽  
...  

The role of the cannabinoid receptor 2 (CNR2) is still poorly described in sensory epithelia. We found strong cnr2 expression in hair cells (HCs) of the inner ear and the lateral line (LL), a superficial sensory structure in fish. Next, we demonstrated that sensory synapses in HCs were severely perturbed in larvae lacking cnr2. Appearance and distribution of presynaptic ribbons and calcium channels (Cav1.3) were profoundly altered in mutant animals. Clustering of membrane-associated guanylate kinase (MAGUK) in post-synaptic densities (PSDs) was also heavily affected, suggesting a role for cnr2 for maintaining the sensory synapse. Furthermore, vesicular trafficking in HCs was strongly perturbed suggesting a retrograde action of the endocannabinoid system (ECs) via cnr2 that was modulating HC mechanotransduction. We found similar perturbations in retinal ribbon synapses. Finally, we showed that larval swimming behaviors after sound and light stimulations were significantly different in mutant animals. Thus, we propose that cnr2 is critical for the processing of sensory information in the developing larva.


2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksey A Moskalev ◽  
Olga A Malysheva

It was investigated the role of stress-response genes (dFOXO, dSir2, Hsp70) in regulation of life span of Drosophila in response to light regime alteration. It was revealed the FOXO-dependant mechanism of lifespan increasing at darkness conditions. The distance of lifespan of FOXO homozygous mutants at different light conditions were absent 3 times from 4 times. It was shown, that homozygotes with deletion of dSir2 have more significant difference between lifespan at standard light and darkness conditions with comparing to wild type and heterozygous strain. The same tendency was also detected the in the strains with Hsp70 deletions. It was produced the evidences of two mechanisms of light regime influence on lifespan: metabolism intensification at light conditions and neuroendocrine-determinated lifespan increasing at darkness conditions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (546) ◽  
pp. eaay9101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei-Hsi Yeh ◽  
Olga Shubina-Oleinik ◽  
Jonathan M. Levy ◽  
Bifeng Pan ◽  
Gregory A. Newby ◽  
...  

Most genetic diseases arise from recessive point mutations that require correction, rather than disruption, of the pathogenic allele to benefit patients. Base editing has the potential to directly repair point mutations and provide therapeutic restoration of gene function. Mutations of transmembrane channel-like 1 gene (TMC1) can cause dominant or recessive deafness. We developed a base editing strategy to treat Baringo mice, which carry a recessive, loss-of-function point mutation (c.A545G; resulting in the substitution p.Y182C) in Tmc1 that causes deafness. Tmc1 encodes a protein that forms mechanosensitive ion channels in sensory hair cells of the inner ear and is required for normal auditory function. We found that sensory hair cells of Baringo mice have a complete loss of auditory sensory transduction. To repair the mutation, we tested several optimized cytosine base editors (CBEmax variants) and guide RNAs in Baringo mouse embryonic fibroblasts. We packaged the most promising CBE, derived from an activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), into dual adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) using a split-intein delivery system. The dual AID-CBEmax AAVs were injected into the inner ears of Baringo mice at postnatal day 1. Injected mice showed up to 51% reversion of the Tmc1 c.A545G point mutation to wild-type sequence (c.A545A) in Tmc1 transcripts. Repair of Tmc1 in vivo restored inner hair cell sensory transduction and hair cell morphology and transiently rescued low-frequency hearing 4 weeks after injection. These findings provide a foundation for a potential one-time treatment for recessive hearing loss and support further development of base editing to correct pathogenic point mutations.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document