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. 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.