Hearing Loss Controlled by Optogenetic Stimulation of Nonexcitable Nonglial Cells in the Cochlea of the Inner Ear.

ABSTRACT: Light-gated ion channels and transporters have been applied to a broad array of excitable cells including neurons, cardiac myocytes, skeletal muscle cells and pancreatic β-cells in an organism to clarify their physiological and pathological roles. Nonetheless, among nonexcitable cells, only glial cells have been studied in vivo by this approach. Here, by optogenetic stimulation of a different nonexcitable cell type in the cochlea of the inner ear, we induce and control hearing loss. To our knowledge, deafness animal models using optogenetics have not yet been established. Analysis of transgenic mice expressing channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) induced by an oligodendrocyte-specific promoter identified this channel in nonglial cells-melanocytes-of an epithelial-like tissue in the cochlea. Th

SUBMITTER: Sato MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5616010 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature