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Updated: Sep 16, 2025

Primary Culture and Plasmid Electroporation of the Murine Organ of Corti.
Published on: February 4, 2010
CASZ1 regulates the rate at which outer hair cells mature and is required for hearing
Abstract:
The transcriptional activator ATOH1 is a master regulator of the development of mechanosensory hair-cells (HCs) in the ear. We report that the ATOH1 target gene Casz1 encodes a transcription factor that regulates the rate of outer HC (OHC) maturation by gene repression. Genetic deletion of Casz1 during (but not after) development of the mouse cochlea caused: hearing loss; abnormal organization of mechanosensory stereocilia bundles in OHCs; abnormally low F-actin density in OHC cuticular plates; progressive loss of OHCs; and mild morphological alterations in inner HCs. RNA sequencing revealed that Casz1 deletion delayed downregulation of genes expressed in immature OHCs, including the actin regulator-encoding gene Coro2a , and accelerated upregulation of genes expressed in mature OHCs. Coro2a knockdown restored the density of cuticular plate F-actin in Casz1 mutant OHCs. Our data indicate that CASZ1 regulates transcriptional and morphological maturation of OHCs, and that CASZ1 in maturing HCs is necessary for hearing.
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