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Thyroid hormone augmentation accelerates hair cell maturation in human cochlear organoids

ABSTRACT: Outer and inner hair cells in the cochlea are essential for hearing, but are vulnerable to damage by genetic mutations and environmental insults, resulting in irreversible sensorineural hearing loss. Investigating these processes requires access to large numbers of human cochlear hair cells and the ability to precisely control genetic, biochemical, and environmental conditions. We recently established a new organoid system that recapitulates human cochlear differentiation. However, maturation of cochlear organoid cultures is inefficient, requiring several months to express the mature outer hair cell marker Prestin. To efficiently obtain fully functional outer hair cells, we tested the effects of the thyroid hormone thyroxine on hair cell maturation in human cochlear organoids. Thyroxine supplementation significantly increased the percentages of Prestin-positive hair cells in an age-dependent manner. Additionally, transcriptomic analyses revealed upregulation of mature outer hair cell genes and downregulation of immature hair cell genes in thyroxine-treated hair cells. Furthermore, some of the treated hair cells exhibited electromotility, a functional hallmark of mature outer hair cells. These results suggest that thyroid hormones accelerate the maturation of hair cells in human cochlear organoids, thereby useful for establishing an improved in vitro model for pre-clinical investigation on sensorineural hearing loss.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE292457 | GEO | 2025/12/17

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) and the associated components of the auditory nerve are primary carriers of auditory information from hair cells to the brain. Loss of SGNs occurs with many pathological conditions, resulting in permanent sensorineural hearing loss. Neural stem/progenitors (NSPs) have been well-characterized in several locations of adult brain and retina. However, it is unclear whether NSPs are present in the adult auditory nerve. Here we examined the self-renewal potential of the adult auditory nerve using ouabain application as a well-established mouse model of acute SGN injury. The observed increase in cell proliferation, alteration in enchromatin/heterochromatin ratio and down-regulation of histone deacetylase expression in glial cells suggest that the quiescent glial cells convert to an activated state after SGN degeneration. This was further confirmed by global gene expression analysis of injured auditory nerves, which showed up-regulation of numerous neurogenesis- and/or development-associated genes shortly after ouabain exposure. These genes include molecular markers commonly used for the identification of NSPs. Under a strict culture regimen, auditory nerve-derived cells of adult mouse ears gave rise to neurospheres, suggesting that multipotent NSPs are present in adult cochlear nerve. Neurosphere assays on Sox2 transgenic mice revealed that Sox2+ glial cells are the source for NSPs. Our data also showed that acute injury or hypoxia enhances neurosphere formation. Taken together, our study revealed that glial cells of adult cochlea exhibit several NSP characteristics, and hence these mature non-neuronal cells may be important targets for promoting self-repair of degenerative auditory nerves. Analysis was conducted on auditory nerve samples from stages encompassing maturation and onset of hearing. Cochleas were collected from euthanized mice (CBA/CaJ) at perinatal (P) stages P0, P3, P7, P10, P14 and P21. Cochleas underwent microdissection to remove the outer bony cochlear shell and cochlear lateral wall, thus preserving the modiolus portion of cochlea which contains mainly the auditory nerve. Paired cochleas (i.e., from left and right ears) from each mouse were pooled to make individual samples. All sample types were done in experimental duplicate (n=2).

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Thyroid hormone augmentation accelerates hair cell maturation in human cochlear organoids

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