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Lukashkina VA, Levic S, Simões P, Xu Z, Li Y, Haugen T, Zuo J, Lukashin AN, Russell IJ. Optogenetics Reveals Roles for Supporting Cells in Force Transmission to and From Outer Hair Cells in the Mouse Cochlea. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1179232023. [PMID: 38050104 PMCID: PMC10860482 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1179-23.2023] [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: 06/26/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Outer hair cells (OHCs) of the organ of Corti (OoC), acting as bidirectional cellular mechanoelectrical transducers, generate, receive, and exchange forces with other major elements of the cochlear partition, including the sensory inner hair cells (IHCs). Force exchange is mediated via a supporting cell scaffold, including Deiters' (DC) and outer pillar cells (OPC), to enable the sensitivity and exquisite frequency selectivity of the mammalian cochlea and to transmit its responses to the auditory nerve. To selectively activate DCs and OPCs in male and female mice, we conditionally expressed in them a hyperpolarizing halorhodopsin (HOP), a light-gated inward chloride ion pump, and measured extracellular receptor potentials (ERPs) and their DC component (ERPDCs) from the cortilymph, which fills the OoC fluid spaces, and compared the responses with similar potentials from HOP-/- littermates. The compound action potentials (CAP) of the auditory nerve were measured as an indication of IHC activity and transmission of cochlear responses to the CNS. HOP light-activated hyperpolarization of DCs and OPCs suppressed cochlear amplification through changing the timing of its feedback, altered basilar membrane (BM) responses to tones at all measured levels and frequencies, and reduced IHC excitation. HOP activation findings reported here complement recent studies that revealed channelrhodopsin activation depolarized DCs and OPCs and effectively bypassed, rather than blocked, the control of OHC mechanical and electrical responses to sound and their contribution to timed and directed electromechanical feedback to the mammalian cochlea. Moreover, our findings identify DCs and OPCs as potential targets for the treatment of noise-induced hearing loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria A Lukashkina
- Sensory Neuroscience Research Group, School of Applied Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, United Kingdom
| | - Snezana Levic
- Sensory Neuroscience Research Group, School of Applied Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, United Kingdom
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9PX, United Kingdom
| | - Patricio Simões
- Sensory Neuroscience Research Group, School of Applied Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, United Kingdom
| | - Zhenhang Xu
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska 68178
| | - Yuju Li
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska 68178
| | - Trevor Haugen
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska 68178
| | - Jian Zuo
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska 68178 ,
- Ting Therapeutics, 9310 Athena Circle, San Diego, California 92037
| | - Andrei N Lukashin
- Sensory Neuroscience Research Group, School of Applied Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, United Kingdom ,
| | - Ian J Russell
- Sensory Neuroscience Research Group, School of Applied Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, United Kingdom ,
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Lukashkina VA, Levic S, Simões P, Xu Z, DiGuiseppi JA, Zuo J, Lukashin AN, Russell IJ. In Vivo Optogenetics Reveals Control of Cochlear Electromechanical Responses by Supporting Cells. J Neurosci 2022; 42:5660-5671. [PMID: 35732495 PMCID: PMC9302466 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2127-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Cochlear sensitivity, essential for communication and exploiting the acoustic environment, results from sensory-motor outer hair cells (OHCs) operating in a structural scaffold of supporting cells and extracellular cortilymph within the organ of Corti (OoC). Cochlear sensitivity control is hypothesized to involve interaction between the OHCs and OoC supporting cells (e.g., Deiters' cells [DCs] and outer pillar cells [OPCs]), but this has never been established in vivo Here, we conditionally expressed channelrhodopsins (ChR2) specifically in male and female mouse DCs and OPCs. Illumination of the OoC activated the nonselective ChR2 cation conductance and depolarized DCs when measured in vivo and in isolated OoC. Measurements of sound-induced cochlear mechanical and electrical responses revealed that OoC illumination suppressed the normal functions of OoC supporting cells transiently and reversibly. OoC illumination blocked normally occurring continuous minor adjustments of tone-evoked basilar membrane displacements over their entire dynamic range and OHC voltage responses to tones at levels and frequencies subject to cochlear amplification. OoC illumination altered the OHC mechanoelectrical transduction conductance operating point, which reversed the asymmetry of OHC voltage responses to high level tones. OoC illumination accelerated recovery from temporary loud sound-induced acoustic desensitization. We concluded that DCs and OPCs are involved in both the control of cochlear responses (which are essential for normal hearing) and the recovery from temporary acoustic desensitization. This is the first direct in vivo evidence for the interdependency of the structural, mechanical, and electrochemical arrangements of OHCs and OoC supporting cells that together provide fine control of cochlear responses.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A striking feature of the mammalian cochlear sensory epithelium, the organ of Corti, is the cellular architecture and supporting cell arrangement that provides a structural scaffold for the sensory-motor outer hair cells. The role of the supporting cell scaffold, however, has never been elucidated in vivo, although in vitro and modeling studies indicate the scaffold is involved in exchange of forces between the outer hair cells and the organ of Corti. We used in vivo techniques, including optogenetics, that do not disrupt arrangements between the outer hair cells and supporting cells, but selectively, transiently, and reversibly interfere with supporting cell normal function. We revealed the supporting cells provide continuous adjustment of cochlear sensitivity, which is instrumental in normal hearing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria A Lukashkina
- Sensory Neuroscience Research Group, School of Applied Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton, BN2 4GJ, United Kingdom
| | - Snezana Levic
- Sensory Neuroscience Research Group, School of Applied Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton, BN2 4GJ, United Kingdom
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9PX, United Kingdom
| | - Patrício Simões
- Sensory Neuroscience Research Group, School of Applied Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton, BN2 4GJ, United Kingdom
| | - Zhenhang Xu
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska 68178
| | - Joseph A DiGuiseppi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska 68178
| | - Jian Zuo
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska 68178
| | - Andrei N Lukashin
- Sensory Neuroscience Research Group, School of Applied Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton, BN2 4GJ, United Kingdom
| | - Ian J Russell
- Sensory Neuroscience Research Group, School of Applied Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton, BN2 4GJ, United Kingdom
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Burwood GWS, Dziennis S, Wilson T, Foster S, Zhang Y, Liu G, Yang J, Elkins S, Nuttall AL. The mechanoelectrical transducer channel is not required for regulation of cochlear blood flow during loud sound exposure in mice. Sci Rep 2020; 10:9229. [PMID: 32514013 PMCID: PMC7280509 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-66192-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The mammalian cochlea possesses unique acoustic sensitivity due to a mechanoelectrical ‘amplifier’, which requires the metabolic support of the cochlear lateral wall. Loud sound exposure sufficient to induce permanent hearing damage causes cochlear blood flow reduction, which may contribute to hearing loss. However, sensory epithelium involvement in the cochlear blood flow regulation pathway is not fully described. We hypothesize that genetic manipulation of the mechanoelectrical transducer complex will abolish sound induced cochlear blood flow regulation. We used salsa mice, a Chd23 mutant with no mechanoelectrical transduction, and deafness before p56. Using optical coherence tomography angiography, we measured the cochlear blood flow of salsa and wild-type mice in response to loud sound (120 dB SPL, 30 minutes low-pass filtered noise). An expected sound induced decrease in cochlear blood flow occurred in CBA/CaJ mice, but surprisingly the same sound protocol induced cochlear blood flow increases in salsa mice. Blood flow did not change in the contralateral ear. Disruption of the sympathetic nervous system partially abolished the observed wild-type blood flow decrease but not the salsa increase. Therefore sympathetic activation contributes to sound induced reduction of cochlear blood flow. Additionally a local, non-sensory pathway, potentially therapeutically targetable, must exist for cochlear blood flow regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- George W S Burwood
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Dept. of Otolaryngology / HNS, Oregon Health & Science University, 3250S.W. Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Suzan Dziennis
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Dept. of Otolaryngology / HNS, Oregon Health & Science University, 3250S.W. Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Teresa Wilson
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Dept. of Otolaryngology / HNS, Oregon Health & Science University, 3250S.W. Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Sarah Foster
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Dept. of Otolaryngology / HNS, Oregon Health & Science University, 3250S.W. Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Yuan Zhang
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Dept. of Otolaryngology / HNS, Oregon Health & Science University, 3250S.W. Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Gangjun Liu
- Shenzhen Bay laboratory, 5F, No.9 Duxue Rd., Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Jianlong Yang
- Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, No. 1219 Zhongguan West Road Zhenhai District, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, 315201, P.R. China
| | - Sean Elkins
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Dept. of Otolaryngology / HNS, Oregon Health & Science University, 3250S.W. Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Alfred L Nuttall
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Dept. of Otolaryngology / HNS, Oregon Health & Science University, 3250S.W. Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR, 97239, USA.
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Dombrowski T, Rankovic V, Moser T. Toward the Optical Cochlear Implant. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2019; 9:cshperspect.a033225. [PMID: 30323016 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a033225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
When hearing fails, cochlear implants (CIs) provide open speech perception to most of the currently half a million CI users. CIs bypass the defective sensory organ and stimulate the auditory nerve electrically. The major bottleneck of current CIs is the poor coding of spectral information, which results from wide current spread from each electrode contact. As light can be more conveniently confined, optical stimulation of the auditory nerve presents a promising perspective for a fundamental advance of CIs. Moreover, given the improved frequency resolution of optical excitation and its versatility for arbitrary stimulation patterns the approach also bears potential for auditory research. Here, we review the current state of the art focusing on the emerging concept of optogenetic stimulation of the auditory pathway. Developing optogenetic stimulation for auditory research and future CIs requires efforts toward viral gene transfer to the neurons, design and characterization of appropriate optogenetic actuators, as well as engineering of multichannel optical implants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Dombrowski
- Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.,Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Ruhr University Bochum, St. Elisabeth Hospital, 44787 Bochum, Germany
| | - Vladan Rankovic
- Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.,Auditory Neuroscience and Optogenetics Group, German Primate Center, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Tobias Moser
- Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.,Auditory Neuroscience and Optogenetics Group, German Primate Center, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.,Auditory Neuroscience Group, Max-Planck-Institute for Experimental Medicine, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
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DiGuiseppi J, Zuo J. The awesome power of optogenetics in hearing research. Neurosci Lett 2019; 701:175-179. [PMID: 30822439 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2019.02.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Revised: 02/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The use of light as a tool to manipulate cellular processes or optogenetics has developed rapidly in various biological fields over the past decade. Through the addition of photosensitive proteins, light can be used to control intracellular mechanisms, map neuronal pathways, and alter variables that would be difficult to control using other mechanisms. Photons of a specific wavelength affect these light sensitive targets for in vitro or in vivo experiments. Optogenetics is beneficial because it gives the investigator spatial and temporal control over experimental variables. Precise control is achieved by sequential activation of different ion channels and the ability to non-invasively control membrane potential. In this review, we will discuss the recent use of optogenetics in biological fields to understand the role of different cell types in hearing and creating a new cochlear implant, as well as future uses such as light controlled drug delivery and gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph DiGuiseppi
- Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, Creighton University School of Medicine, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178, USA
| | - Jian Zuo
- Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, Creighton University School of Medicine, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178, USA.
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Duarte MJ, Kanumuri VV, Landegger LD, Tarabichi O, Sinha S, Meng X, Hight AE, Kozin ED, Stankovic KM, Brown MC, Lee DJ. Ancestral Adeno-Associated Virus Vector Delivery of Opsins to Spiral Ganglion Neurons: Implications for Optogenetic Cochlear Implants. Mol Ther 2018; 26:1931-1939. [PMID: 30017876 PMCID: PMC6094394 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2018.05.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2018] [Revised: 05/21/2018] [Accepted: 05/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Optogenetics is a transformative technology based on light-sensitive microbial proteins, known as opsins, that enable precise modulation of neuronal activity with pulsed radiant energy. Optogenetics has been proposed as a means to improve auditory implant outcomes by reducing channel interaction and increasing electrode density, but the introduction of opsins into cochlear spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) in vivo has been challenging. Here we test opsin delivery using a synthetically developed ancestral adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector called Anc80L65. Wild-type C57BL/6 mouse pups were injected via the round window of cochlea with Anc80L65 carrying opsin Chronos under the control of a CAG promoter. Following an incubation of 6-22 weeks, pulsed blue light was delivered to cochlear SGNs via a cochleosotomy approach and flexible optical fiber. Optically evoked auditory brainstem responses (oABRs) and multiunit activity in inferior colliculus (IC) were observed. Post-experiment cochlear histology demonstrated opsin expression in SGNs (mean = 74%), with an even distribution of opsin along the cochlear basal/apical gradient. This study is the first to describe robust SGN transduction, opsin expression, and optically evoked auditory electrophysiology in neonatal mice. Ultimately, this work may provide the basis for a new generation of cochlear implant based on light.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria J Duarte
- Eaton Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Vivek V Kanumuri
- Eaton Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Lukas D Landegger
- Eaton Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Osama Tarabichi
- Eaton Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sumi Sinha
- Eaton Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Xiankai Meng
- Eaton Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ariel Edward Hight
- Eaton Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Elliott D Kozin
- Eaton Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Konstantina M Stankovic
- Eaton Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - M Christian Brown
- Eaton Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Daniel J Lee
- Eaton Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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