Comparison of the Quantity of Cochlear Melanin in Young and Old C57BL/6 Mice

Genome analysis reveals insights into physiology and longevity of the Brandt’s bat Myotis brandtii

“…S9) is a transporter protein that has an important role in melanin synthesis15 and was recently reported to be one of the most abundantly expressed genes in the inner ear16. Melanin is highly sound-absorbing17 and may function in the inner ear to protect the cochlea from aging-related hearing loss and sound stressors in much the same manner as melanin in the skin protects against ultraviolet light181920. A recent study found that RGS7BP (Supplementary Fig.…”

Relationships between Hearing Loss and the Prevalences of Cataract, Glaucoma, Diabetic Retinopathy, and Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Korea

“…In a previous study that used fluorescein angiography, it was mentioned that the impaired circulation modulates the association between AMD with hearing impairment [31], and in another study melanin dysfunction was suggested to underlie the pathologies of both diseases [32]. More specifically, the authors suggested melanin dysfunction might lead to the apoptosis of retinal pigment epithelial cells in AMD [33,34], and that ageing of the cochlear, which contains large amounts of melanin, might be responsible for age-related hearing deterioration [35,36].…”

Deficiency of Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines Ameliorated Cochlear Damage From Noise Exposure

“…After adjustment for age, African Americans also exhibit significantly better resistance to NIHL, in studies involving cross-sectional samples of metal fabricating workers (Ishii and Talbott, 1998 ) and gold miners (Strauss et al, 2014 ). Melanin levels in cochlear melanocytes have been speculatively reasoned as the source of the race/ethnicity differences in the variation of susceptibility to NIHL, and there has been substantial research performed both on animal models (Hayashi et al, 2007 ; Ohlemiller et al, 2009 ; Murillo-Cuesta et al, 2010 ), and using human temporal bones (Sun et al, 2014 ). Our finding of resistance against NIHL and noise-induced cochlear damage in Darc- KO mice compared with WT mice raises the interesting possibility that variation of susceptibility to NIHL between African-Americans and Caucasians could be due in part to a difference in the expression of Darc between the two groups.…”