Early Postnatal NT-3 Gene Delivery Enhances Hearing Acquisition in the Developmental Period.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of early postnatal neurotrophin-3 (NT3) support on hearing acquisition.



A prospective experimental animal study.



Adenoviral (Ad) vectors expressing green fluorescence protein (GFP) alone or in combination with NT3 were injected into the scala tympani through the round window of 5-postnatal-day-old (P5) rats. Changes in NT3 mRNA level, hearing thresholds, and morphological studies were done after the viral vector injection.



NT3 mRNA was significantly increased in the Ad-GFP-NT3 group compared to the normal-developmental group and Ad-GFP alone group. GFP was widely expressed in the cochlea such as in the hair cells, supporting cell area, and spiral ganglion neurons. Auditory brainstem response thresholds were significantly lower in the Ad-GFP-NT3 group compared to the normal-developmental group and Ad-GFP alone group at P15.



These results show that early postnatal NT3 overexpression may accelerate the acquisition of hearing in rats.



NA Laryngoscope, 126:E379-E385, 2016.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Yanbian University Hospital, Yanji, China.
Yongde
Y
Jin
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.|Department of Medical Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Ah-Ra
AR
Lyu
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Sung-Jae
SJ
Park
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Yanbian University Hospital, Yanji, China.|Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Jun
J
Xu
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Yanbian University Hospital, Yanji, China.
Jie
J
Cui
Department of Dermatology , College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Kyung-Cheol
KC
Sohn
Department of Pharmacology , College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Gang Min
GM
Hur
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Yanbian University Hospital, Yanji, China. yulianjin66@163.com.
Yulian
Y
Jin
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. parkyh@cnu.ac.kr.|Brain Research Institute , College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. parkyh@cnu.ac.kr.
Yong-Ho
YH
Park
D000818:Animals; D003051:Cochlea / Q000254:growth & development; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000235:genetics; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006309:Hearing / Q000235:genetics*; D020933:Neurotrophin 3 / Q000235:genetics*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012405:Round Window, Ear; D012533:Scala Tympani
D020933:Neurotrophin 3; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins
Neurotrophin 3; hearing acquisition