Genes, Vol. 15, Pages 48: KMT2D Deficiency Causes Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Mice and Humans

Genes, Vol. 15, Pages 48: KMT2D Deficiency Causes Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Mice and Humans Genes doi: 10.3390/genes15010048 Authors: Allison J. Kalinousky Teresa R. Luperchio Katrina M. Schrode Jacqueline R. Harris Li Zhang Valerie B. DeLeon Jill A. Fahrner Amanda M. Lauer Hans T. Bjornsson Individuals with Kabuki syndrome type 1 (KS1) often have hearing loss recognized in middle childhood. Current clinical dogma suggests that this phenotype is caused by frequent infections due to the immune deficiency in KS1 and/or secondary to structural abnormalities of the ear. To clarify some aspects of hearing loss, we collected information on hearing status from 21 individuals with KS1 and found that individuals have both sensorineural and conductive hearing loss, with the average age of presentation being 7 years. Our data suggest that while ear infections and structural abnormalities contribute to the observed hearing loss, these factors do not explain all loss. Using a KS1 mouse model, we found hearing abnormalities from hearing onset, as indicated by auditory brainstem response measurements. In contrast to mouse and human data for CHARGE syndrome, a disorder possessing overlapping clinical features with KS and a well-known cause of hearing loss and structural inner ear abnormalities, there are no apparent structural abnormalities of the cochlea in KS1 mice. The KS1 mice also display diminished distortion product otoacoustic emission levels, which sugges...
Source: Genes - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research