Inner hair cell ribbon synapse plasticity might be molecular basis of temporary hearing threshold shifts in mice.
Recent studies have reported that noise exposure at relatively low intensities can cause temporary threshold shifts (TTS) in hearing. However, the mechanism underlying the TTS is still on debate. Here, we report that an acoustic stimulation (100 dB SPL, white noise) induced TTS in mice, with the maximal ABR threshold elevations seen on the 4(th) day after noise exposure. On the other hand, there were no significant morphological changes in the cochlea. Further, there were paralleled changes of pre-synaptic ribbons in both the number and postsynaptic density (PSDs) during this noise exposure. The numbers of presynaptic ribbon, postsynaptic density (PSDs), and colocalized puncta correlated with the shifts of ABR thresholds. Moreover, a complete recovery of ABR thresholds and synaptic puncta was seen on the 14(th) day after the noise stimulations. Thus, our study may indicate that noise exposure can cause a decline in cochlear ribbon synapses and result in consequent hearing loss. The reduction of synaptic puncta appears reversible and may contribute to hearing restoration in mice after noise exposure.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University Dalian 116013, China.
Haolin
H
Wang
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University Shenyang 110001, China.
Ning
N
Zhao
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University Dalian 116013, China.
Kaisheng
K
Yan
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University Dalian 116013, China.
Xiuli
X
Liu
Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, The Institute of Otolaryngology, Chinese PLA General Hospital 28 Fuxing Road, BeiJing, 100853, China.
Yue
Y
Zhang
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University Dalian 116013, China.
Zhijun
Z
Hong
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University Dalian 116013, China.
Mingyu
M
Wang
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University Dalian 116013, China.
Qing
Q
Yin
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University Dalian 116013, China.
Feifeng
F
Wu
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University Dalian 116013, China.
Yu
Y
Lei
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University Dalian 116013, China.
Xiaoyan
X
Li
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University Dalian 116013, China.
Lin
L
Shi
Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, The Institute of Otolaryngology, Chinese PLA General Hospital 28 Fuxing Road, BeiJing, 100853, China.
Ke
K
Liu
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases; D000818:Animals; D001305:Auditory Fatigue; D056970:Co-Repressor Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006199:Hair Cells, Auditory, Inner / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D009622:Noise; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013997:Time Factors
D056970:Co-Repressor Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases; C111341:Ctbp2 protein, mouse
Noise exposure; hearing impairment; inner hair cell; ribbon synapse plasticity