Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea

Summary

This manuscript describes an experimental protocol for evaluating the morphological characteristics and functional status of ribbon synapses in normal mice. The present model is also suitable for noise-induced and age-related cochlear synaptopathy-restricted models. The correlative results of previous mouse studies are also discussed.

Abstract

Cochlear inner hair cells (IHCs) transmit acoustic signals to spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) through ribbon synapses. Several experimental studies have indicated that hair cell synapses may be the initial targets in sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Such studies have proposed the concept of cochlear "synaptopathy", which refers to alterations in ribbon synapse number, structure, or function that result in abnormal synaptic transmission between IHCs and SGNs. While cochlear synaptopathy is irreversible, it does not affect the hearing threshold. In noise-induced experimental models, restricted damage to IHC synapses in select frequency regions is employed to identify the environmental factors that specifically cause synaptopathy, as well as the physiological consequences of disturbing this inner ear circuit. Here, we present a protocol for analyzing cochlear synaptic morphology and function at a specific frequency region in adult mice. In this protocol, cochlear localization of specific frequency regions is performed using place-frequency maps in conjunction with cochleogram data, following which the morphological characteristics of ribbon synapses are evaluated via synaptic immunostaining. The functional status of ribbon synapses is then determined based on the amplitudes of auditory brainstem response (ABR) wave I. The present report demonstrates that this approach can be used to deepen our understanding of the pathogenesis and mechanisms of synaptic dysfunction in the cochlea, which may aid in the development of novel therapeutic interventions.

Introduction

Frequencies in the range of approximately 20‒20,000 Hz can be perceived as auditory stimuli by humans. Human hearing is normally most sensitive near 1,000 Hz, where average sound pressure level is 20 μPa in young adults (i.e., 0 decibels of sound pressure level [dB SPL]). In some pathological conditions, hearing loss is restricted to specific frequencies. For example, in the early stages of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), a “notch” (i.e., hearing threshold elevation) can be observed in the audiogram at 4 kHz¹. Along the mammalian cochlear partition, its gradations of stiffness and mass produce an exponential frequency ....

Protocol

All procedures were carried out in accordance with the NRC/ILAR Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (8th Edition). The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

1. Animal Selection

1. For all experiments, use adult C57BL/6J male mice (8 weeks old) as the animal model.
   NOTE: C57BL/6J mice carrying a splice variant of the Cdh23 exhibit accelerated senescence .......

Discussion

Since cochlear synaptopathy was first characterized in adult mice with a temporary threshold shift (TTS) induced by 8‒16 kHz octave band noise at 100 dB SPL for 2 h³¹, researchers have increasingly investigated the effects of synaptopathy in various mammals, including monkeys and humans^32,33. In addition to noise exposure, several other conditions have been associated with cochlear synaptopathy (e.g., aging, the use of ototoxic drugs.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Ketamine hydrochloride	Gutian Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Fujian, China	H35020148	100mg/kg
Xylazine hydrochloride	Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA	X-1251	10mg/kg
TDT physiology apparatus	Tucker-Davis Technologies, Alachua, FL, USA	Auditory Physiology System III
SigGen/BioSig software	Tucker-Davis Technologies, Alachua, FL, USA	Auditory Physiology System III
Electric Pad	Pet Fun	11072931136
Dumont forceps 3#	Fine Science Tools, North Vancouver, B.C., Canada	0203-3-PO
Dumont forceps 5#	Fine Science Tools, North Vancouver, B.C., Canada	0209-5-PO
Stereo dissection microscope	Nikon Corp., Tokyo, Japan	SMZ1270
Goat serum	ZSGB-BIO, Beijing,China	ZLI-9021
Anti-glutamate receptor 2, extracellular, clone 6C4	Millipore Corp., Billerica, MA, USA	MAB397	mouse
Purified Mouse Anti-CtBP2	BD Biosciences, Billerica, MA, USA	612044	mouse
Alexa Fluor 568 goat anti-mouse IgG1antibody	Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waltham, MA, USA	A21124	goat
Alexa Fluor 488 goat anti-mouse IgG2a antibody	Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waltham, MA, USA	A21131	goat
Mounting medium containing DAPI	ZSGB-BIO, Beijing,China	ZLI-9557
Confocal fluorescent microscopy	Leica Microsystems, Wetzlar, Germany	TCS SP8 II
Image Pro Plus software	Media Cybernetics, Bethesda, MD, USA	version 6.0
Professional diagnostic pocket otoscope	Lude Medical Apparatus and Instruments Trade Co., Ltd., Shanghai,China	HS-OT10
Needle electrode	Friendship Medical Electronics Co., Ltd., Xi'an,China	1029	20 mm, 28 G
Closed-field speaker	Tucker-Davis Technologies, Alachua, FL, USA	CF1