Adam J Carlton, Jing-Yi Jeng, Fiorella C Grandi, Francesca De Faveri, Ana E Amariutei, Lara De Tomasi, Andrew O'Connor, Stuart L Johnson, David N Furness, Steve D M Brown, Federico Ceriani, Michael R Bowl, Mirna Mustapha, Walter Marcotti
Type I spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) convey sound information to the central auditory pathway by forming synapses with inner hair cells (IHCs) in the mammalian cochlea. The molecular mechanisms regulating the formation of the post-synaptic density (PSD) in the SGN afferent terminals are still unclear. Here, we demonstrate that brain-specific angiogenesis inhibitor 1 (BAI1) is required for the clustering of AMPA receptors GluR2-4 (glutamate receptors 2-4) at the PSD. Adult Bai1-deficient mice have functional IHCs but fail to transmit information to the SGNs, leading to highly raised hearing thresholds...
April 1, 2024: Cell Reports