Deletion of Luzp2 Does Not Cause Hearing Loss in Mice

Cheng Cheng; Guangjie Zhu; Kaijian Wang; Chuan Bu; Siyu Li; Yue Qiu; Jie Lu; Xinya Ji; Wenli Hao; Junguo Wang; Chengwen Zhu; Ye Yang; Yajun Gu; Xiaoyun Qian; Chenjie Yu; Xia Gao

doi:10.1007/s12264-024-01202-5

Deletion of Luzp2 Does Not Cause Hearing Loss in Mice

Neurosci Bull. 2024 Apr 9. doi: 10.1007/s12264-024-01202-5. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Cheng Cheng^#^{1

2}, Guangjie Zhu^#^{1

2}, Kaijian Wang^#³, Chuan Bu^#⁴, Siyu Li¹, Yue Qiu¹, Jie Lu⁵, Xinya Ji⁵, Wenli Hao¹, Junguo Wang^{1

2}, Chengwen Zhu^{1

2}, Ye Yang^{1

2}, Yajun Gu¹, Xiaoyun Qian^{1

2}, Chenjie Yu^{6

7}, Xia Gao^{8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of the Medical School, Jiangsu Provincial Key Medical Discipline (Laboratory), Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China.
² Research Institute of Otolaryngology, Nanjing, 210008, China.
³ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Qidong People's Hospital, Qidong Liver Cancer Institute, Affiliated Qidong Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, 226200, China.
⁴ The First Affiliated Hospital of Kangda College of Nanjing Medical University, The First People's Hospital of Lianyungang, Lianyungang, 222000, China.
⁵ Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital Affiliated to Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225001, China.
⁶ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of the Medical School, Jiangsu Provincial Key Medical Discipline (Laboratory), Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China. entphd@163.com.
⁷ Research Institute of Otolaryngology, Nanjing, 210008, China. entphd@163.com.
⁸ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of the Medical School, Jiangsu Provincial Key Medical Discipline (Laboratory), Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China. gaoxia@nju.edu.cn.
⁹ Research Institute of Otolaryngology, Nanjing, 210008, China. gaoxia@nju.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38589712
DOI: 10.1007/s12264-024-01202-5

Abstract

Deafness is the prevailing sensory impairment among humans, impacting every aspect of one's existence. Half of congenital deafness cases are attributed to genetic factors. Studies have shown that Luzp2 is expressed in hair cells (HCs) and supporting cells of the inner ear, but its specific role in hearing remains unclear. To determine the importance of Luzp2 in auditory function, we generated mice deficient in Luzp2. Our results revealed that Luzp2 has predominant expression within the HCs and pillar cells. However, the loss of Luzp2 did not result in any changes in auditory threshold. HCs or synapse number and HC stereocilia morphology in Luzp2 knockout mice did not show any notable distinctions. This was the first study of the role of Luzp2 in hearing in mice, and our results provide important guidance for the screening of deafness genes.

Keywords: Hair cell; Hearing loss; Luzp2; Ribbon synapse; Stereocilia.