Planar cell polarity governs the alignment of the nasopharyngeal epithelium in mammals.

Planar cell polarity (PCP) signalling specifies the orientation of epithelial cells and regulates directional beating of motile cilia of multiciliated epithelial cells. Clinically, defects in cilia function are associated with nasopharyngeal symptoms. The polarity of the nasopharyngeal epithelium is poorly understood.

Concurrent Occurrence of Congenital Ossicular Anomaly and Localized Cholesteatoma: Series of 10 Cases.

Objective: The objective of this study is to describe the clinical features, managements and outcomes of a rare coexistence of congenital ossicular anomaly and localized cholesteatoma. A literature review on these cases and each congenital disorder is also presented.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed on patients diagnosed with congenital ossicular anomaly with concurrent localized cholesteatoma from 2008 to 2017.

Deep Learning in Automated Region Proposal and Diagnosis of Chronic Otitis Media Based on Computed Tomography.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop a deep-learning framework for the diagnosis of chronic otitis media (COM) based on temporal bone computed tomography (CT) scans.

Design: A total of 562 COM patients with 672 temporal bone CT scans of both ears were included. The final dataset consisted of 1147 ears, and each of them was assigned with a ground truth label from one of the 3 conditions: normal, chronic suppurative otitis media, and cholesteatoma.

Mechanisms of Hearing Loss in a Guinea Pig Model of Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence.

Defective acoustic transmission in the cochlea is closely related with various auditory and vestibular symptoms. Among them, semicircular canal dehiscence (SCD) with a defective semicircular bone is typical. Currently, the pathogenesis of SCD is usually explained by the third window hypothesis; however, this hypothesis fails to explain the variability in the symptoms and signs experienced by superior SCD (SSCD) patients.

Cell proliferation during hair cell regeneration induced by Math in vestibular epithelia .

Hair cell regeneration is the fundamental method of correcting hearing loss and balance disorders caused by hair cell damage or loss. How to promote hair cell regeneration is a hot focus in current research. In mammals, cochlear hair cells cannot be regenerated and few vestibular hair cells can be renewed through spontaneous regeneration.

Junctional E-cadherin/p120-catenin Is Correlated with the Absence of Supporting Cells to Hair Cells Conversion in Postnatal Mice Cochleae.

Notch inhibition is known to generate supernumerary hair cells (HCs) at the expense of supporting cells (SCs) in the mammalian inner ear. However, inhibition of Notch activity becomes progressively less effective at inducing SC-to-HC conversion in the postnatal cochlea and balance organs as the animal ages. It has been suggested that the SC-to-HC conversion capacity is inversely correlated with E-cadherin accumulation in postnatal mammalian utricles.

Notch pathway inhibitor DAPT enhances Atoh1 activity to generate new hair cells in rat cochleae.

Atoh1 overexpression in cochlear epithelium induces new hair cell formation. Use of adenovirus-mediated Atoh1 overexpression has mainly focused on the rat lesser epithelial ridge and induces ectopic hair cell regeneration. The sensory region of rat cochlea is difficult to transfect, thus new hair cells are rarely produced in situ in rat cochlear explants.

Afferent synaptogenesis between ectopic hair-cell-like cells and neurites of spiral ganglion induced by Atoh1 in mammals in vitro.

Newly formed ectopic hair-cell-like cells (EHCLCs) induced by overexpression of atonal homolog 1 (Atoh1) in vitro were found to possess features of endogenous hair cells (HCs) in previous reports and in the present study. However, limited information is available regarding whether EHCLCs and native spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) form afferent synapses, which are important for the restoration of hearing. In the current study, we focused on the afferent synaptogenesis between EHCLCs and SGN-derived dendrites.

Notch signaling is active in normal mouse middle ear epithelial cells.

Mucous cell metaplasia/hyperplasia in the middle ear epithelium is associated with the occurrence of otitis media with effusion during infections. However, the mechanism by which Notch signaling regulates cell fate in the middle ear epithelium is unclear. The aim of the present study was to elucidate this mechanism by investigating the localization of Notch receptors, such as Notch1 and Notch2, and Notch ligands, such as Jagged1, in the normal mouse middle ear epithelium (NMMEE) using immunofluorescence.

Shrinkage of ipsilateral taste buds and hyperplasia of contralateral taste buds following chorda tympani nerve transection.

The morphological changes that occur in the taste buds after denervation are not well understood in rats, especially in the contralateral tongue epithelium. In this study, we investigated the time course of morphological changes in the taste buds following unilateral nerve transection. The role of the trigeminal component of the lingual nerve in maintaining the structural integrity of the taste buds was also examined.

Role of the planar cell polarity pathway in regulating ectopic hair cell-like cells induced by Math1 and testosterone treatment.

Planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling regulates cochlear extension and coordinates orientation of sensory hair cells in the inner ear. Retroviral-mediated introduction of the Math1 transcription factor leads to the transdifferentiation of some mature supporting cells into hair cells. Testosterone, a gonadal sex steroid hormone, is associated with neuroprotection and regeneration in Central Nervous System (CNS) development.

Atoh1 expression levels define the fate of rat cochlear nonsensory epithelial cells in vitro.

Atonal homolog 1 (Atoh1) is a basic helix‑loop‑helix transcription factor that is essential for inner ear hair cell differentiation. Previous studies have reported that Atoh1 gene transfer induces the production of ectopic hair cell‑like cells (EHCLCs). In the present study, the effect of different Atoh1 expression levels and the duration of EHCLC formation on the lesser epithelial ridge (LER) of cochleae was examined using a human adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) vector encoding atoh1 and the reporter gene EGFP.

Changes in ADF/destrin expression in the development of hair cells following Atoh1-induced ectopic regeneration.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of actin depolymerizing factor (ADF)/destrin and position changes of kinetosomes in the development of hair cells following Atoh1-induced ectopic regeneration in the basilar membrane of mice. We observed through immunofluorescence at various time-points the expression of ADF/destrin and the specific kinetosome marker, γ-tubulin, in hair cells following ectopic regeneration induced by adenovirus transfection, overexpression of Atoh1 and culture. Changes of ADF/destrin distribution and kinetosome position during culture of new hair cells [Myo7a(+)] following Atoh1-induced ectopic regeneration are consistent with the changes in ADF/destrin expression and the polar migration of kinetosomes in hair cells of the cochlear sensory epithelium in normal development.

Clinical characteristics of patients with labyrinthine fistulae caused by middle ear cholesteatoma.

Background: Labyrinthine fistula (LF) is a very common clinical complication mainly caused by middle ear cholesteatoma. Whether the presence of different degree LF caused by middle ear cholesteatoma aggravates neurosensory hearing loss (NSHL) and what is the degree of the hearing loss caused by LF were still under controversial. This study aimed to investigate whether the LF degree is correlative with the age distribution, disease duration and hearing loss degree for cholesteatomatous patients.

Cutaneous neuroendocrine carcinoma of the external auditory canal: a case report and review of the literature.

Cutaneous neuroendocrine carcinoma (cNEC) is rarely seen in the external ear. In this paper, we newly describe a patient with cNEC in his right external auditory canal, followed by a further discussion on the clinical features, diagnosis, and treatments of cNEC of the external ear. A review of the literature showed that cNEC of the external auditory canal generally presents as asymptomatic and that pathology yields the most confirmative diagnosis.

Expression of Numb and Numb-like in the development of mammalian auditory sensory epithelium.

The Numb and Numb-like are evolutionarily conserved cell fate-determining factors in mammals. For the first time, we investigate the involvement of the Numb and Numb-like in the developing auditory sensory epithelium. We show that both of them are expressed in the rat auditory sensory epithelium, and the four isoforms of the Numb have dynamic expression patterns during cochlear development.

Survival and fate of transplanted embryonic neural stem cells by Atoh1 gene transfer in guinea pigs cochlea.

Embryonic neural stem cells (NSCs) were isolated from the neuroepithelium of the dorsal telencephalon of embryonic rats and infected by Ad5-Atoh1-enhanced green fluorescent protein. These NSCs were then delivered into neurosphere culture medium or transplanted into the endolymphatic space of the normal guinea pig cochlea through cochleostomy. Embryonic NSC phenotype of these isolated cells was determined by immunohistochemical detection of cell-specific protein markers.