| First Author | Stankewich MC | Year | 2022 |
| Journal | Hear Res | Volume | 423 |
| Pages | 108564 | PubMed ID | 35864018 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:345361 | Mgi Id | MGI:7579567 |
| Doi | 10.1016/j.heares.2022.108564 | Citation | Stankewich MC, et al. (2022) Outer hair cell function is normal in betaV spectrin knockout mice. Hear Res 423:108564 |
| abstractText | Reports have proposed a putative role for betaV spectrin in outer hair cells (OHCs) of the cochlea. In an ongoing investigation of the role of the cytoskeleton in electromotility, we tested mice with a targeted exon deletion of betaV spectrin (Spnb5), and unexpectedly find that Spnb5((-/-)) animals' auditory thresholds are unaffected. Similarly, these mice have normal OHC electromechanical activity (otoacoustic emissions) and non-linear capacitance. In contrast, magnitudes of auditory brainstem response (ABR) wave 1-amplitudes are significantly reduced. Evidence of a synaptopathy was absent with normal hair cell CtBP2 counts. In Spnb5((-/-)) mice, the number of afferent and efferent nerve fibers is decreased. Consistent with this data, Spnb5 mRNA is present in Type I and II spiral ganglion neurons, but undetectable in OHCs. Together, these data establish that betaV spectrin is important for hearing, affecting neuronal structure and function. Significantly, these data support that betaV spectrin as is not functionally important to OHCs as has been previously suggested. |
