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MicroRNAs Related to Cognitive Impairment After Hearing Loss
Seog-Kyun Mun1, Hyunkyu Chae1, Xian-Yu Piao1
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Objectives:
Our research group has previously demonstrated that hearing loss might be a risk factor for synaptic loss within the hippocampus and impairment of cognition using an animal model of Alzheimer disease. In this study, after inducing hearing loss in a rat model of Alzheimer disease, the associations of various microRNAs (miRNAs) with cognitive impairment were investigated.
Methods:
Rats were divided randomly into two experimental groups: the control group, which underwent sham surgery and subthreshold amyloid-β infusion and the deaf group, which underwent bilateral cochlear ablation and subthreshold amyloid-β infusion. All rats completed several cognitive function assessments 11 weeks after surgery, including the object-in-place task (OPT), the novel object recognition task (NOR), the object location task (OLT), and the Y-maze test. After the rats completed these tests, hippocampus tissue samples were assessed using miRNA microarrays. Candidate miRNAs were selected based on the results and then validated with quantitative reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analyses.
Results:
The deaf group showed considerably lower scores on the OPT, OLT, and Y-maze test than the control group. The microarray analysis revealed that miR-29b-3p, -30e-5p, -153-3p, -376a-3p, -598-3p, -652-5p, and -873-3p were candidate miRNAs, and qRT-PCR showed significantly higher levels of miR-376a-3p and miR-598-3p in the deaf group.
Conclusion:
These results indicate that miR-376a-3p and miR-598-3p were related to cognitive impairment after hearing loss.
Insights
Hearing loss in an Alzheimer
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
- Auditory Science
Background:
- Hearing loss is a potential risk factor for cognitive impairment.
- Alzheimer's disease models show synaptic and cognitive deficits.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the link between hearing loss and cognitive decline.
- Identify microRNAs (miRNAs) associated with hearing loss-induced cognitive impairment in an Alzheimer's disease rat model.
Main Methods:
- Rats with induced hearing loss and Alzheimer's disease pathology underwent cognitive tests.
- Hippocampal tissue was analyzed using miRNA microarrays and qRT-PCR.
Main Results:
- Deaf rats exhibited significant cognitive deficits in object recognition and spatial memory tasks.
- miR-376a-3p and miR-598-3p levels were significantly elevated in deaf rats.
Conclusions:
- miR-376a-3p and miR-598-3p are associated with cognitive impairment in the context of hearing loss.
- These miRNAs may play a role in the neuropathology linking hearing loss and cognitive decline.
