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Li X, Wang Z, Chen N. Perspective and Therapeutic Potential of the Noncoding RNA-Connexin Axis. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:6146. [PMID: 38892334 PMCID: PMC11173347 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25116146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2024] [Revised: 05/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are a class of nucleotide sequences that cannot be translated into peptides. ncRNAs can function post-transcriptionally by splicing complementary sequences of mRNAs or other ncRNAs or by directly engaging in protein interactions. Over the past few decades, the pervasiveness of ncRNAs in cell physiology and their pivotal roles in various diseases have been identified. One target regulated by ncRNAs is connexin (Cx), a protein that forms gap junctions and hemichannels and facilitates intercellular molecule exchange. The aberrant expression and misdistribution of connexins have been implicated in central nervous system diseases, cardiovascular diseases, bone diseases, and cancer. Current databases and technologies have enabled researchers to identify the direct or indirect relationships between ncRNAs and connexins, thereby elucidating their correlation with diseases. In this review, we selected the literature published in the past five years concerning disorders regulated by ncRNAs via corresponding connexins. Among it, microRNAs that regulate the expression of Cx43 play a crucial role in disease development and are predominantly reviewed. The distinctive perspective of the ncRNA-Cx axis interprets pathology in an epigenetic manner and is expected to motivate research for the development of biomarkers and therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zhenzhen Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Functions of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica & Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China;
| | - Naihong Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Functions of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica & Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China;
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Strepay D, Olszewski RT, Nixon S, Korrapati S, Adadey S, Griffith AJ, Su Y, Liu J, Vishwasrao H, Gu S, Saunders T, Roux I, Hoa M. Transgenic Tg(Kcnj10-ZsGreen) fluorescent reporter mice allow visualization of intermediate cells in the stria vascularis. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3038. [PMID: 38321040 PMCID: PMC10847169 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52663-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024] Open
Abstract
The stria vascularis (SV) is a stratified epithelium in the lateral wall of the mammalian cochlea, responsible for both endolymphatic ion homeostasis and generation of the endocochlear potential (EP) critical for normal hearing. The SV has three layers consisting predominantly of basal, intermediate, and marginal cells. Intermediate and marginal cells form an intricate interdigitated network of cell projections making discrimination of the cells challenging. To enable intermediate cell visualization, we engineered by BAC transgenesis, reporter mouse lines expressing ZsGreen fluorescent protein under the control of Kcnj10 promoter and regulatory sequences. Kcnj10 encodes KCNJ10 protein (also known as Kir4.1 or Kir1.2), an ATP-sensitive inwardly-rectifying potassium channel critical to EP generation, highly expressed in SV intermediate cells. In these transgenic mice, ZsGreen fluorescence mimics Kcnj10 endogenous expression in the cochlea and was detected in the intermediate cells of the SV, in the inner phalangeal cells, Hensen's, Deiters' and pillar cells, in a subset of spiral ganglion neurons, and in glial cells. We show that expression of the transgene in hemizygous mice does not alter auditory function, nor EP. These transgenic Tg(Kcnj10-ZsGreen) mice allow live and fixed tissue visualization of ZsGreen-expressing intermediate cells and will facilitate future studies of stria vascularis cell function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dillon Strepay
- Auditory Development and Restoration Program, Neurotology Branch, National Institute On Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, 35 Convent Dr., Room 1F-226, Bethesda, MD, 20892-3745, USA
| | - Rafal T Olszewski
- Auditory Development and Restoration Program, Neurotology Branch, National Institute On Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, 35 Convent Dr., Room 1F-226, Bethesda, MD, 20892-3745, USA
| | - Sydney Nixon
- Auditory Development and Restoration Program, Neurotology Branch, National Institute On Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, 35 Convent Dr., Room 1F-226, Bethesda, MD, 20892-3745, USA
| | - Soumya Korrapati
- Auditory Development and Restoration Program, Neurotology Branch, National Institute On Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, 35 Convent Dr., Room 1F-226, Bethesda, MD, 20892-3745, USA
| | - Samuel Adadey
- Auditory Development and Restoration Program, Neurotology Branch, National Institute On Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, 35 Convent Dr., Room 1F-226, Bethesda, MD, 20892-3745, USA
| | - Andrew J Griffith
- Otolaryngology Branch, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Yijun Su
- Advanced Imaging and Microscopy Resource, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Jiamin Liu
- Advanced Imaging and Microscopy Resource, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Harshad Vishwasrao
- Advanced Imaging and Microscopy Resource, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Shoujun Gu
- Auditory Development and Restoration Program, Neurotology Branch, National Institute On Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, 35 Convent Dr., Room 1F-226, Bethesda, MD, 20892-3745, USA
| | - Thomas Saunders
- Transgenic Animal Model Core, Biomedical Research Core Facility, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Isabelle Roux
- Otolaryngology Branch, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA
| | - Michael Hoa
- Auditory Development and Restoration Program, Neurotology Branch, National Institute On Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, 35 Convent Dr., Room 1F-226, Bethesda, MD, 20892-3745, USA.
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Strepay D, Olszewski RT, Nixon S, Korrapati S, Adadey S, Griffith AJ, Su Y, Liu J, Vishwasrao H, Gu S, Saunders T, Roux I, Hoa M. Transgenic Tg(Kcnj10-ZsGreen) Fluorescent Reporter Mice Allow Visualization of Intermediate Cells in the Stria Vascularis. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-3393161. [PMID: 37886521 PMCID: PMC10602146 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3393161/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
The stria vascularis (SV) is a stratified epithelium in the lateral wall of the mammalian cochlea, responsible for both endolymphatic ion homeostasis and generation of the endocochlear potential (EP) critical for normal hearing. The SV has three layers consisting predominantly of basal, intermediate, and marginal cells. Intermediate and marginal cells form an intricate interdigitated network of cell projections making discrimination of the cells challenging. To enable intermediate cell visualization, we engineered by BAC transgenesis, reporter mouse lines expressing ZsGreen fluorescent protein under the control of Kcnj10 promoter and regulatory sequences. Kcnj10 encodes KCNJ10 protein (also known as Kir4.1 or Kir1.2), an ATP-sensitive inwardly-rectifying potassium channel critical to EP generation, highly expressed in SV intermediate cells. In these transgenic mice, ZsGreen fluorescence mimics Kcnj10 endogenous expression in the cochlea and was detected in the intermediate cells of the SV, in the inner phalangeal cells, Hensen's, Deiters' and pillar cells, in a subset of spiral ganglion neurons, and in glial cells. We show that expression of the transgene in hemizygous mice does not alter auditory function, nor EP These transgenic Tg(Kcnj10-ZsGreen) mice allow live and fixed tissue visualization of ZsGreen-expressing intermediate cells and will facilitate future studies of stria vascularis cell function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dillon Strepay
- Auditory Development and Restoration Program, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health
| | - Rafal T Olszewski
- Auditory Development and Restoration Program, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health
| | - Sydney Nixon
- Auditory Development and Restoration Program, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health
| | - Soumya Korrapati
- Auditory Development and Restoration Program, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health
| | - Samuel Adadey
- Auditory Development and Restoration Program, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health
| | - Andrew J Griffith
- Otolaryngology Branch, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health
| | - Yijun Su
- Advanced Imaging and Microscopy Resource, National Institutes of Health
| | - Jiamin Liu
- Advanced Imaging and Microscopy Resource, National Institutes of Health
| | | | - Shoujun Gu
- Auditory Development and Restoration Program, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health
| | - Thomas Saunders
- Transgenic Animal Model Core, Biomedical Research Core Facility, University of Michigan
| | - Isabelle Roux
- Otolaryngology Branch, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health
| | - Michael Hoa
- Auditory Development and Restoration Program, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health
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Zhao C, Yang Z, Gong S, Du Z. Adenovirus-mediated SIRT1 protects cochlear strial marginal cells in a D-gal-induced senescent model in vitro. Mol Biol Rep 2023; 50:541-551. [PMID: 36350417 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-022-08032-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A primary obstacle in age-related hearing loss (ARHL) study is the lack of accelerated senescent models in vitro that explore the precise underlying mechanism in different types of ARHL. The damage to strial marginal cells (SMCs) is a subset of strial presbycusis-associated pathological changes. We aimed to establish a D-galactose (D-gal)-induced SMCs senescent model and study the effect of deacetylase sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) on presbycusis in vitro. METHODS SMCs from C57BL/6J neonatal mice were cultured and treated with D-gal to establish accelerated senescent models. And then D-gal-induced SMCs were transfected with adenovirus (Ad)-SIRT1-GFP or Ad-GFP. Oxidative stress and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage were determined by histological analysis or RT-PCR. Western blotting (WB) and RT-PCR were used to evaluate protein and mRNA levels of superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) and SIRT1, respectively. Additionally, apoptosis was investigated by WB and TUNEL staining. RESULTS D-gal-induced SMCs exhibited several characteristics of senescence, including increased the level of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine, which is a marker of DNA oxidative damage, and elevated the amount of mtDNA 3860-bp deletion, which is a common type of mtDNA damage in the auditory system of mice. SIRT1 overexpression effectively inhibited these changes by upregulating the level of SOD2, thereby inhibiting cytochrome c translocation from mitochondria to cytoplasm, inhibiting cell apoptosis, and ultimately delaying aging in the D-gal-induced senescent SMCs. CONCLUSIONS Altogether, the evidence suggests that the D-gal-induced SMCs accelerated aging model is successfully established, and SIRT1 overexpression protects SMCs against oxidative stress by enhancing SOD2 expression in ARHL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunli Zhao
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 95, Yong'an Road, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100050, China.,Clinical Center for Hearing Loss, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Zijing Yang
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 95, Yong'an Road, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100050, China.,Clinical Center for Hearing Loss, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Shusheng Gong
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 95, Yong'an Road, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100050, China. .,Clinical Center for Hearing Loss, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100050, China.
| | - Zhengde Du
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 95, Yong'an Road, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100050, China. .,Clinical Center for Hearing Loss, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100050, China.
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Paciello F, Zorzi V, Raspa M, Scavizzi F, Grassi C, Mammano F, Fetoni AR. Connexin 30 deletion exacerbates cochlear senescence and age-related hearing loss. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:950837. [PMID: 36016655 PMCID: PMC9395607 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.950837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathogenic mutations in the Gjb2 and Gjb6 genes, encoding connexin 26 (Cx26) and connexin 30 (Cx30), respectively, have been linked to the most frequent monogenic hearing impairment, nonsyndromic hearing loss, and deafness DFNB1. It is known that Cx26 plays an important role in auditory development, while the role of Cx30 in hearing remains controversial. Previous studies found that partial deletion of Cx26 can accelerate age-related hearing loss (ARHL), a multifactorial complex disorder, with both environmental and genetic factors contributing to the etiology of the disease. Here, we investigated the role of Cx30 in cochlear-aging processes using a transgenic mouse model with total deletion of Cx30 (Cx30 ΔΔ mice), in which Cx30 was removed without perturbing the surrounding sequences. We show that these mice are affected by exacerbated ARHL, with increased morphological cochlear damage, oxidative stress, inflammation, and vascular dysfunctions. Overall, our data demonstrate that Cx30 deletion can be considered a genetic risk factor for ARHL, making cochlear structures more susceptible to aging processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabiola Paciello
- Department of Neuroscience, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Veronica Zorzi
- CNR Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Monterotondo (RM), Italy
| | - Marcello Raspa
- CNR Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Monterotondo (RM), Italy
| | | | - Claudio Grassi
- Department of Neuroscience, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabio Mammano
- CNR Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Monterotondo (RM), Italy
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- *Correspondence: Fabio Mammano, ; Anna Rita Fetoni,
| | - Anna Rita Fetoni
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
- Unit of Audiology, Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Sciences and Dentistry, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
- *Correspondence: Fabio Mammano, ; Anna Rita Fetoni,
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