Molecular differences between neonatal and adult stria vascularis from organotypic explants and transcriptomics. Molecular differences between neonatal and adult stria vascularis from organotypic explants and transcriptomics

The stria vascularis (SV) generates the endocochlear potential that is required for hearing and maintains the blood-labyrinth barrier which protects the inner ear from pathogenic infiltration. SV degeneration disrupts cochlear homeostasis and results in progressive and irreversible hearing loss, yet little is known about this tissue. We elucidate the molecular differences between the neonatal (post-natal day 1, P1) and adult (P30) SV through the analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing on SV from both stages. We revealed key genes, transcription factors, and pathways unique to each stage that may play a role in SV proliferation, development, and maintenance. Overall design: Neonatal (post-natal day 1, P1) and adult (P30) SV tissue was dissociated and run on a 10X Controller for single cell isolation and library production. Libraries were sequenced on an Illumina NextSeq500 and raw gene expression matrices analyzed in Seurat, followed by CellChat for intercellular communication analyses and Slingshot for trajectory analyses.

血管纹（stria vascularis, SV）可产生听觉必需的耳蜗内电位，并维持血迷路屏障，保护内耳免受病原体侵袭。血管纹变性会破坏耳蜗稳态，引发进行性且不可逆的听力损失，但目前学界对该组织的认知仍较为匮乏。本研究通过对两个发育阶段的血管纹组织——新生小鼠（出生后第1天，P1）与成年小鼠（出生后第30天，P30）——开展单细胞RNA测序（single-cell RNA sequencing）分析，阐明了二者之间的分子差异。我们鉴定出了每个发育阶段特有的关键基因、转录因子及信号通路，这些分子可能在血管纹的增殖、发育与稳态维持过程中发挥调控作用。实验整体设计：分别解离新生（P1）与成年（P30）小鼠的血管纹组织，借助10X Controller完成单细胞分离与文库构建；将构建好的文库在Illumina NextSeq500平台进行测序，原始基因表达矩阵先通过Seurat软件进行分析，后续利用CellChat开展细胞间通信分析，Slingshot进行细胞轨迹分析。