Age-related hearing impairment (ARHI), or presbycusis, is the most prevalent sensory impairment in the elderly. ARHI is a complex disease caused by an interaction between environmental and genetic factors. Here we describe the results of the first whole genome association study for ARHI. The study was performed using 846 cases and 846 controls selected from 3434 individuals collected by eight centers in six European countries. DNA pools for cases and controls were allelotyped on the Affymetrix 500K GeneChip for each center separately. The 252 top-ranked single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified in a non-Finnish European sample group (1332 samples) and the 177 top-ranked SNPs from a Finnish sample group (360 samples) were confirmed using individual genotyping. Subsequently, the 23 most interesting SNPs were individually genotyped in an independent European replication group (138 samples). This resulted in the identification of a highly significant and replicated SNP located in GRM7, the gene encoding metabotropic glutamate receptor type 7. Also in the Finnish sample group, two GRM7 SNPs were significant, albeit in a different region of the gene. As the Finnish are genetically distinct from the rest of the European population, this may be due to allelic heterogeneity. We performed histochemical studies in human and mouse and showed that mGluR7 is expressed in hair cells and in spiral ganglion cells of the inner ear. Together these data indicate that common alleles of GRM7 contribute to an individual's risk of developing ARHI, possibly through a mechanism of altered susceptibility to glutamate excitotoxicity.

DFNA5 was first identified as a gene causing autosomal dominant hearing loss (HL). Different mutations have been found, all exerting a highly specific gain-of-function effect, in which skipping of exon 8 causes the HL. Later reports revealed the involvement of the gene in different types of cancer. Epigenetic silencing of DFNA5 in a large percentage of gastric, colorectal and breast tumors and p53-dependent transcriptional activity have been reported, concluding that DFNA5 acts as a tumor suppressor gene in different frequent types of cancer. Despite these data, the molecular function of DFNA5 has not been investigated properly. Previous transfection studies with mutant DFNA5 in yeast and in mammalian cells showed a toxic effect of the mutant protein, which was not seen after transfection of the wild-type protein. Here, we demonstrate that DFNA5 is composed of two domains, separated by a hinge region. The first region induces apoptosis when transfected in HEK293T cells, the second region masks and probably regulates this apoptosis inducing capability. Moreover, the involvement of DFNA5 in apoptosis-related pathways in a physiological setting was demonstrated through gene expression microarray analysis using Dfna5 knockout mice. In view of its important role in carcinogenesis, this finding is expected to lead to new insights on the role of apoptosis in many types of cancer. In addition, it provides a new line of evidence supporting an important role for apoptosis in monogenic and complex forms of HL. Keywords: tumor suppressor; hearing loss; apoptosis; dfna5; cancer; GSEA INTRODUCTION DFNA5 first was discovered in a Dutch family with autosomal dominant hearing loss (HL). 1 Not much was known concerning its cellular function and how its function was related to HL. Recently, a novel mutation in DFNA5 has been identified in a Korean family, totaling five families with DFNA5 HL. 2 These families all have different genomic DFNA5 mutations, but in each case the DFNA5 mRNA transcript skips exon 8, resulting in a frameshift and a premature truncation of the protein. [1][2][3][4][5] These findings have led to the hypothesis that DFNA5-associated HL is attributable to a highly specific gain-of-function mutation, in which skipping of one exon causes disease while mutations in other parts of this gene may not result in HL at all. Further experimental evidence for this hypothesis was provided by the finding that transfection of mutant DFNA5 causes cell death in both yeast 6 and mammalian 7 cells and by the discovery of a new DFNA5 mutation. 8 The latter mutation truncated the protein in the fifth exon, but did not segregate with HL and was present in family members with normal hearing. The hypothesis was further corroborated by a mouse that lacked the Dfna5 protein. This knockout (KO) mouse did not display any HL and, as a consequence, was not a suitable animal model to study DFNA5-associated HL. 9 To date, little information is available on the physiological function of DFNA5. However, since its identification, the small num...

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Heregulin-alpha is a motility factor that is produced and released by normal epidermal keratinocytes and thus plays a key role in the pathogenesis of Paget's disease. Paget cells express heregulin receptors HER2/NEU, as well as HER3 and/or HER4, both of which function as a co-receptor of HER2/NEU. Binding of heregulin-alpha to the receptor complex on Paget cells results in the chemotaxis of these breast cancer cells, which eventually migrate into the overlying nipple epidermis.