Expression of a membrane-targeted fluorescent reporter disrupts auditory hair cell mechanoelectrical transduction and causes profound deafness.

ABSTRACT: The reporter mT/mG mice expressing a membrane-targeted fluorescent protein are becoming widely used to study the auditory and vestibular system due to its versatility. Here we show that high expression levels of the fluorescent mtdTomato reporter affect the function of the sensory hair cells and the auditory performance of mT/mG transgenic mice. Auditory brainstem responses and distortion product otoacoustic emissions revealed that adult mT/mG homozygous mice are profoundly deaf, whereas heterozygous mice present high frequency loss. We explore whether this line would be useful for studying and visualizing the membrane of auditory hair cells by airyscan super-resolution confocal microscopy. Membrane localization of the reporter was observed in hair cells of the cochlea, facilitating imagin

SUBMITTER: Ballesteros A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8035305 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature