Open AccessElmod3 knockout leads to progressive hearing loss and abnormalities in cochlear hair cell stereocilia
Author(s) -
Li Wu,
Yong Feng,
Anhai Chen,
Taoxi Li,
Sida Huang,
Jing Liu,
Xianlin Liu,
Yalan Liu,
Jiangang Gao,
Denise Yan,
Jie Sun,
Lingyun Mei,
Xuezhong Liu,
Jie Ling
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
human molecular genetics online/human molecular genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.811
H-Index - 276
eISSN - 1460-2083
pISSN - 0964-6906
DOI - 10.1093/hmg/ddz240
Subject(s) - stereocilia (inner ear) , hair cell , cochlea , organ of corti , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , inner ear , hearing loss , knockout mouse , neuroscience , audiology , genetics , medicine , gene
ELMOD3, an ARL2 GTPase-activating protein, is implicated in causing hearing impairment in humans. However, the specific role of ELMOD3 in auditory function is still far from being elucidated. In the present study, we used the CRISPR/Cas9 technology to establish an Elmod3 knockout mice line in the C57BL/6 background (hereinafter referred to as Elmod3-/- mice) and investigated the role of Elmod3 in the cochlea and auditory function. Elmod3-/- mice started to exhibit hearing loss from 2 months of age, and the deafness progressed with aging, while the vestibular function of Elmod3-/- mice was normal. We also observed that Elmod3-/- mice showed thinning and receding hair cells in the organ of Corti and much lower expression of F-actin cytoskeleton in the cochlea compared with wild-type mice. The deafness associated with the mutation may be caused by cochlear hair cells dysfunction, which manifests with shortening and fusion of inner hair cells stereocilia and progressive degeneration of outer hair cells stereocilia. Our finding associates Elmod3 deficiencies with stereocilia dysmorphologies and reveals that they might play roles in the actin cytoskeleton dynamics in cochlear hair cells, and thus relate to hearing impairment.