title: Age-related changes in cochlear endolymphatic potassium and potential in CD-1 and CBA/CaJ mice.
abstract: The CD-1 mouse strain is known to have early onset of hearing loss that is progressive with aging. We sought to determine whether a disturbance of K+ homeostasis and pathological changes in the cochlear lateral wall were involved in the age-related hearing loss (AHL) of CD-1 as compared to the CBA/CaJ strain which has minimal AHL. In the present study, the endocochlear potential (EP) and endolymphatic K+ concentration ([K+]e) were measured in both strains of mice with double-barrel microelectrodes at "young" (1-2 mo) and "old" (5-9 mo) ages. CBA/CaJ mice displayed no changes with aging in EP and [K+]e of the basal turn. In the apical turn, there was a small positive shift of the EP (10 mV) with aging under both normoxic and acute anoxic conditions (-EP), without any change of [K+]e. Further, there were no obvious pathological changes in the lateral wall of CBA/CaJ mice. By contrast, old CD-1 mice displayed a significantly reduced [K+]e by 30% in both basal and apical turns with no significant changes in normoxic EP. The -EP in the apical turn was significantly reduced in magnitude by 6 mV. A severe loss of cells with aging was observed in the region of type IV fibrocytes of the apical and basal turns and of type II fibrocytes in the basal turn. A complete degeneration of organ of Corti was also observed at the basal turn of old CD-1 mice, as well as a basalward decline of spiral ganglion neuron density. The pathological changes in spiral ligament of CD-1 mice were similar to those of an inbred mouse strain C57BL/6J that expresses an AHL gene (ahl) and might be a primary etiology of AHL of CD-1 mice. These findings have ramifications for our understanding of AHL and for interpretation of genetic mutations in a CD-1 background.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Daniel C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Marcus
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D003051:Cochlea / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D003055:Cochlear Microphonic Potentials; D004710:Endolymph / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism*; D011304:Presbycusis / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D011188:Potassium