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Michanski S, Henneck T, Mukhopadhyay M, Steyer AM, Gonzalez PA, Grewe K, Ilgen P, Gültas M, Fornasiero EF, Jakobs S, Möbius W, Vogl C, Pangršič T, Rizzoli SO, Wichmann C. Age-dependent structural reorganization of utricular ribbon synapses. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1178992. [PMID: 37635868 PMCID: PMC10447907 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1178992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In mammals, spatial orientation is synaptically-encoded by sensory hair cells of the vestibular labyrinth. Vestibular hair cells (VHCs) harbor synaptic ribbons at their presynaptic active zones (AZs), which play a critical role in molecular scaffolding and facilitate synaptic release and vesicular replenishment. With advancing age, the prevalence of vestibular deficits increases; yet, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood and the possible accompanying morphological changes in the VHC synapses have not yet been systematically examined. We investigated the effects of maturation and aging on the ultrastructure of the ribbon-type AZs in murine utricles using various electron microscopic techniques and combined them with confocal and super-resolution light microscopy as well as metabolic imaging up to 1 year of age. In older animals, we detected predominantly in type I VHCs the formation of floating ribbon clusters, mostly consisting of newly synthesized ribbon material. Our findings suggest that VHC ribbon-type AZs undergo dramatic structural alterations upon aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susann Michanski
- Molecular Architecture of Synapses Group, Institute for Auditory Neuroscience, InnerEarLab and Center for Biostructural Imaging of Neurodegeneration, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Collaborative Research Center 889, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Multiscale Bioimaging Cluster of Excellence (MBExC), University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Timo Henneck
- Biology Bachelor Program, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Mohona Mukhopadhyay
- Experimental Otology Group, InnerEarLab, Department of Otolaryngology, Institute for Auditory Neuroscience, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Anna M. Steyer
- Electron Microscopy-City Campus, Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Germany
- Center Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CNMPB), University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Paola Agüi Gonzalez
- Department for Neuro-and Sensory Physiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Center for Biostructural Imaging of Neurodegeneration (BIN), Göttingen, Germany
| | - Katharina Grewe
- Department for Neuro-and Sensory Physiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Center for Biostructural Imaging of Neurodegeneration (BIN), Göttingen, Germany
| | - Peter Ilgen
- Clinic of Neurology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of NanoBiophotonics, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Translational Neuroinflammation and Automated Microscopy TNM, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Mehmet Gültas
- Faculty of Agriculture, South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences, Soest, Germany
| | - Eugenio F. Fornasiero
- Department for Neuro-and Sensory Physiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Center for Biostructural Imaging of Neurodegeneration (BIN), Göttingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Jakobs
- Clinic of Neurology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of NanoBiophotonics, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Translational Neuroinflammation and Automated Microscopy TNM, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Wiebke Möbius
- Multiscale Bioimaging Cluster of Excellence (MBExC), University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Electron Microscopy-City Campus, Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christian Vogl
- Collaborative Research Center 889, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Presynaptogenesis and Intracellular Transport in Hair Cells Group, Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Auditory Neuroscience Group, Institute of Physiology, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Tina Pangršič
- Collaborative Research Center 889, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Multiscale Bioimaging Cluster of Excellence (MBExC), University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Experimental Otology Group, InnerEarLab, Department of Otolaryngology, Institute for Auditory Neuroscience, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Silvio O. Rizzoli
- Department for Neuro-and Sensory Physiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Center for Biostructural Imaging of Neurodegeneration (BIN), Göttingen, Germany
| | - Carolin Wichmann
- Molecular Architecture of Synapses Group, Institute for Auditory Neuroscience, InnerEarLab and Center for Biostructural Imaging of Neurodegeneration, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Collaborative Research Center 889, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Multiscale Bioimaging Cluster of Excellence (MBExC), University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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Nadol JB, Burgess BJ. Morphology of Synapses at the Base of Hair Cells in the Organ of Corti of the Chimpanzee. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 2020. [DOI: 10.1177/000348949009900311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The synaptic morphology of inner and outer hair cells of the organ of Corti of the chimpanzee was evaluated by serial section electron microscopy. The morphology of nerve terminals and synapses at both sites was very similar to that of human and other mammalian species. Two types of nerve terminals, nonvesiculated and vesiculated, with distinct synaptic morphology were found. In addition, between some nonvesiculated endings and outer hair cells, a reciprocal synaptic relationship was seen. In such terminals there was morphologic evidence for transmission from hair cell to neuron and from neuron to hair cell between a single neuron and an outer hair cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph B. Nadol
- Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School, and The Otopathology Laboratory, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston
| | - Barbara J. Burgess
- Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School, and The Otopathology Laboratory, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston
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Guth P, Norris C, Fermin CD, Pantoja M. The correlated blanching of synaptic bodies and reduction in afferent firing rates caused by transmitter-depleting agents in the frog semicircular canal. Hear Res 1993; 66:143-9. [PMID: 8389740 DOI: 10.1016/0378-5955(93)90135-n] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Synaptic bodies (SBs) associated with rings of synaptic vesicles and well-defined, pre- and post-synaptic membrane structures are indicators of maturity in most hair cell-afferent nerve junctions. The role of the SBs remains elusive despite several experiments showing that they may be involved in storage of neurotransmitter. Our results demonstrate that SBs of the adult posterior semicircular canal (SCC) cristae hair cells become less electron dense following incubation of the SCC with the transmitter-depleting drug tetrabenazine (TBZ). Objective quantification and comparison of the densities of the SBs in untreated and TBZ-treated frog SCC demonstrated that TBZ significantly decreased the electron density of SBs. This reduction in electron density was accompanied by a reduction in firing rates of afferent fibers innervating the posterior SCC. A second transmitter-depleting drug, guanethidine, previously shown to reduce the electron density of hair cell SBs, also reduced the firing rates of afferent fibers innervating the posterior SCC. In contrast, the electron density of dense granules (DG), similar in size and shape to synaptic bodies (SB) in hair cells, did not change after incubation in TBZ, thus indicating that granules and SBs are not similar in regard to their electron density. The role of SBs in synaptic transmission and the transmitter, if any, stored in the SBs remain unknown. Nonetheless, the association of the lessening of electron density with a reduction in afferent firing rate provides impetus for the further investigation of the SB's role in neurotransmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Guth
- Department of Pharmacology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112-2699
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Kitamura K, Yoshikawa Y, Ochikubo F. An ultrastructural study on vestibular sensory cells in a new-mutant mouse. Acta Otolaryngol 1991; 111:1013-20. [PMID: 1763621 DOI: 10.3109/00016489109100750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The ultrastructural characteristics of the vestibular epithelium and light microscopical study of the central nervous system of a strain of new-mutant mice were analyzed. For the vestibular study, we used 72 homozygotes with ages ranging from 10 days to 18 months. The most striking findings observed in these mice were the disarray of the stereocilia of the utricular and saccular maculae and disintegration of the saccular otoconia. Many hair cells displayed abnormality of the stereocilia such as reduced number, disorganized distribution, and giant cilia, although the hair cell cytoplasm, including the nerve terminals, became fully developed. Demineralization of the saccular otoconia was age dependent, and a complete loss of the saccular hair cells was demonstrated. In conjunction with the disarray of the outer hair cells of the cochlea, morphological manifestation of the gene abnormality of these mice was related to immaturation of the stereociliary tufts. Because no morphological abnormality was observed in the central nervous system, the abnormal behavior in these mice was primarily correlated with morphological abnormalities of the vestibule.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Kitamura
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Tokyo, Japan
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