The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mol. Neurosci.
Sec. Molecular Signalling and Pathways
Volume 17 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2024.1455136
This article is part of the Research Topic Pathobiological Defects in Sensorineural Hearing Loss: From Identification to Rescue View all 4 articles
Inactivity of Stat3 in sensory and non-sensory cells of the mature cochlea
Provisionally accepted- 1 Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany
- 2 Core Unit Systems Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany
Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) plays a role in various cellular processes such as differentiation, inflammation, cell survival and microtubule dynamics, depending on the cell type and the activated signaling pathway. Stat3 is highly expressed in the hair cells and supporting cells of the cochlea and is essential for the differentiation of mouse hair cells in the early embryonic stage. However, it is unclear how Stat3 contributes to the correct function of cells in the organ of Corti postnatally. To investigate this, an inducible Cre/loxp system was used to knock out Stat3 in either the outer hair cells or the supporting cells. The results showed that the absence of Stat3 in either the outer hair cells or the supporting cells resulted in hearing loss without altering the morphology of the organ of Corti. Molecular analysis of the outer hair cells revealed an inflammatory process with increased cytokine production and upregulation of the NF-kB pathway. However, the absence of Stat3 in the supporting cells resulted in reduced microtubule stability. In conclusion, Stat3 is a critical protein for the sensory epithelium of the cochlea and hearing and functions in a cell and function-specific manner.
Keywords: stat3, Cochlea, Outer hair cells, supporting cells, Organ of Corti, Inflammation, hearing impairment
Received: 26 Jun 2024; Accepted: 20 Sep 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Bieniussa, Stolte, Engert, Arampatzi, Völker, Hagen, Hackenberg and Rak. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Linda Bieniussa, Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, 97080, Bavaria, Germany
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.