Abnormal Innervation, Demyelination, and Degeneration of Spiral Ganglion Neurons as Well as Disruption of Heminodes are Involved in the Onset of Deafness in Cx26 Null Mice
Yue Qiu1 · Le Xie1 · Xiaohui Wang1 · Kai Xu2 · Xue Bai2 · Sen Chen1 · Yu Sun11 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
2 Department of Otolaryngology, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China
Abstract
GJB2 gene mutations are the most common causes of autosomal recessive non-syndromic hereditary deafness. For individuals suffering from severe to profound GJB2-related deafness, cochlear implants have emerged as the sole remedy for auditory improvement. Some previous studies have highlighted the crucial role of preserving cochlear neural components in achieving favorable outcomes after cochlear implantation. Thus, we generated a conditional knockout mouse model (Cx26-CKO) in which Cx26 was completely deleted in the cochlear supporting cells driven by the Sox2 promoter. The Cx26-CKO mice showed severe hearing loss and massive loss of hair cells and Deiter’s cells, which represented the extreme form of human deafness caused by GJB2 gene mutations. In addition, multiple pathological changes in the peripheral auditory nervous system were found, including abnormal innervation, demyelination, and degeneration of spiral ganglion neurons as well as disruption of heminodes in Cx26-CKO mice. These findings provide invaluable insights into the deafness mechanism and the treatment for severe deafness in Cx26-null mice.
Keywords
Spiral ganglion neurons; Gjb2; Heminode; Hearing loss
