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Zhang J, Hou Z, Wang X, Jiang H, Neng L, Zhang Y, Yu Q, Burwood G, Song J, Auer M, Fridberger A, Hoa M, Shi X. VEGFA165 gene therapy ameliorates blood-labyrinth barrier breakdown and hearing loss. JCI Insight 2021; 6:143285. [PMID: 33690221 PMCID: PMC8119217 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.143285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Millions of people are affected by hearing loss. Hearing loss is frequently caused by noise or aging and often associated with loss of pericytes. Pericytes populate the small vessels in the adult cochlea. However, their role in different types of hearing loss is largely unknown. Using an inducible and conditional pericyte depletion mouse model and noise-exposed mouse model, we show that loss of pericytes leads to marked changes in vascular structure, in turn leading to vascular degeneration and hearing loss. In vitro, using advanced tissue explants from pericyte fluorescence reporter models combined with exogenous donor pericytes, we show that pericytes, signaled by VEGF isoform A165 (VEGFA165), vigorously drive new vessel growth in both adult and neonatal mouse inner ear tissue. In vivo, the delivery of an adeno-associated virus serotype 1-mediated (AAV1-mediated) VEGFA165 viral vector to pericyte-depleted or noise-exposed animals prevented and regenerated lost pericytes, improved blood supply, and attenuated hearing loss. These studies provide the first clear-cut evidence that pericytes are critical for vascular regeneration, vascular stability, and hearing in adults. The restoration of vascular function in the damaged cochlea, including in noise-exposed animals, suggests that VEGFA165 gene therapy could be a new strategy for ameliorating vascular associated hearing disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinhui Zhang
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - Zhiqiang Hou
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - Xiaohan Wang
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.,Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Han Jiang
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - Lingling Neng
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - Yunpei Zhang
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - Qing Yu
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - George Burwood
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - Junha Song
- Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Manfred Auer
- Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Anders Fridberger
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Michael Hoa
- Auditory Development and Restoration Program, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Xiaorui Shi
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
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Hou Z, Neng L, Zhang J, Cai J, Wang X, Zhang Y, Lopez IA, Shi X. Acoustic Trauma Causes Cochlear Pericyte-to-Myofibroblast-Like Cell Transformation and Vascular Degeneration, and Transplantation of New Pericytes Prevents Vascular Atrophy. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY 2020; 190:1943-1959. [PMID: 32562655 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2020.05.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Revised: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Acoustic trauma disrupts cochlear blood flow and damages sensory hair cells. Damage and regression of capillaries after acoustic trauma have long been observed, but the underlying mechanism of pathology has not been understood. We show herein that loud sound causes change of phenotype from neural/glial antigen 2 positive/α-smooth muscle actin negative to neural/glial antigen 2 positive/α-smooth muscle actin positive in some pericytes (PCs) on strial capillaries that is strongly associated with up-regulation of transforming growth factor-β1. The acoustic trauma also reduced capillary density and increased deposition of matrix proteins, particularly in the vicinity of transformed PCs. In a newly established in vitro three-dimensional endothelial cell (EC) and PC co-culture model, transformed PCs induced thicker capillary-like branches in ECs and increased collagen IV and laminin expression. Transplantation of exogenous PCs derived from neonatal day 10 mouse cochleae to acoustic traumatized cochleae, however, significantly attenuated the decreased vascular density in the stria. Transplantation of PCs pretransfected with adeno-associated virus 1-vascular endothelial growth factor-A165 under control of a hypoxia-response element markedly promotes vascular volume and blood flow, increased proliferation of PCs and ECs, and attenuated loud sound-caused loss in endocochlear potential and hearing. Our results indicate that loud sound-triggered PC transformation contributes to capillary wall thickening and regression, and young PC transplantation effectively rehabilitates the vascular regression and improves hearing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqiang Hou
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
| | - Lingling Neng
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
| | - Jinhui Zhang
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
| | - Jing Cai
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
| | - Xiaohan Wang
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon; Center for Life Sciences, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Yunpei Zhang
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
| | - Ivan A Lopez
- Cellular and Molecular Biology of the Inner Ear Laboratory, Department of Head and Neck Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Xiaorui Shi
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon.
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