c.753A>G genome editing of a Cdh23ahl allele delays age-related hearing loss and degeneration of cochlear hair cells in C57BL/6J mice

Abstract C57BL/6J mice have long been studied as a model of age-related hearing loss (ARHL). In C57BL/6J mice, ARHL begins in the high-frequency range at 3 months of age and spreads toward low frequencies by 10 months of age. We previously confirmed that c.753A>G genome editing of an ahl allele (c.753A) in the cadherin 23 gene (Cdh23) suppressed the onset of ARHL until 12 months of age. We further investigated the hearing phenotypes of the original and genome-edited C57BL/6J-Cdh23+/+ (c.753G/G) mice until 24 months of age. The hearing tests revealed that most of the C57BL/6J mice maintained good hearing levels until 14 months of age following genome editing of a Cdh23ahl allele. However, the hearing levels of the C57BL/6J-Cdh23+/+ mice gradually declined, and severe ARHL developed with increasing age. ARHL in the C57BL/6J mice was correlated with degeneration of the stereocilia in cochlear hair cells. The stereocilia degeneration was rescued in the C57BL/6J-Cdh23+/+ mice at 12 months of age, but the stereocilia bundles exhibited abnormal phenotypes similar to those of the original C57BL/6J mice at more advanced ages. Therefore, genome editing of Cdh23ahl did not completely suppress ARHL in C57BL/6J mice. We also compared the hearing levels of C57BL/6J-Cdh23+/+ mice with those of C3H/HeN and MSM/Ms mice, which carry the Cdh23+ allele. The severity and onset patterns of ARHL in the C57BL/6J-Cdh23+/+ mice differed from those observed in other Cdh23+/+ mice. Therefore, we hypothesize that other susceptible and/or resistant alleles of ARHL exist in the genetic backgrounds of these mice.