Age-related hearing loss is undoubtedly multifactorial, combining genetic predispositions with a plethora of lifetime insults to the auditory organ. Therefore, no single model may encompass all facets of presbycusis and research has to select appropriate approaches to selected aspects that may contribute to this pathology. The proposed project explores a major hypothesis of aging namely that reactive oxygen species (ROS) are major contributors to age-related tissue dysfunction. The evidence behind this hypothesis is compelling and preliminary data are highly suggestive that both endogenous antioxidant defenses and redox-sensitive signaling pathways decline in the aging cochlea leaving cochlear tissues and cells prone to oxidative injury and death. The hypothesis will be addressed at several levels in four specific aims.
The first aim will assess cochlear pathology in aging CBA mice and measure the intrinsic antioxidants defense systems (glutathione, antioxidant enzymes) that maintain the cellular redox status.
The second aim will determine the activity of redox-regulated signaling pathways that restore redox homeostasis. The control of these pathways requires the concerted efforts of second messengers, protein kinases, and transcription factors that will ultimately change the pattern of gene expression in the cell. Consequently, the third aim will analyze the expression of redox-related genes in aging CBA mice and compare this pattern to gene expression in progeny of four-way crosses (bred in Project 0003) with accelerated hearing loss. Finally, the fourth aim proposes to supplement nutritional antioxidants in an effort to restore redox homeostasis in aging animals and attenuate an oxidative stress-based cochlear failure. The results of this study, together with the results from projects 0002 and 0003, will allow us to formulate a hypothesis of stress-related injuries to the aging cochlea. Such knowledge and the potential attenuation of hearing loss by antioxidants may have far reaching consequences for the treatment of presbycusis.
| Altschuler, R A; Dolan, D F; Halsey, K et al. (2015) Age-related changes in auditory nerve-inner hair cell connections, hair cell numbers, auditory brain stem response and gap detection in UM-HET4 mice. Neuroscience 292:22-33 |
| Schacht, Jochen; Altschuler, Richard; Burke, David T et al. (2012) Alleles that modulate late life hearing in genetically heterogeneous mice. Neurobiol Aging 33:1842.e15-29 |
| Gong, Tzy-Wen; Fairfield, Damon A; Fullarton, Lynne et al. (2012) Induction of heat shock proteins by hyperthermia and noise overstimulation in hsf1 -/- mice. J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 13:29-37 |
| Sha, Su-Hua; Kanicki, Ariane; Halsey, Karin et al. (2012) Antioxidant-enriched diet does not delay the progression of age-related hearing loss. Neurobiol Aging 33:1010.e15-6 |
| Miller, Richard A; Dolan, David; Han, Melissa et al. (2011) Resistance of skin fibroblasts to peroxide and UV damage predicts hearing loss in aging mice. Aging Cell 10:362-3 |
| Leiser, Scott F; Miller, Richard A (2010) Nrf2 signaling, a mechanism for cellular stress resistance in long-lived mice. Mol Cell Biol 30:871-84 |
| Sha, Su-Hua; Chen, Fu-Quan; Schacht, Jochen (2010) PTEN attenuates PIP3/Akt signaling in the cochlea of the aging CBA/J mouse. Hear Res 264:86-92 |
| Sha, Su-Hua; Chen, Fu-Quan; Schacht, Jochen (2009) Activation of cell death pathways in the inner ear of the aging CBA/J mouse. Hear Res 254:92-9 |
| Sha, Su-Hua; Kanicki, Ariane; Dootz, Gary et al. (2008) Age-related auditory pathology in the CBA/J mouse. Hear Res 243:87-94 |
| Jiang, Hongyan; Talaska, Andra E; Schacht, Jochen et al. (2007) Oxidative imbalance in the aging inner ear. Neurobiol Aging 28:1605-12 |
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