Two Loci Contribute to Age-Related Hearing Loss Resistance in the Japanese Wild-Derived Inbred MSM/Ms Mice

Yasuda S.P., Miyasaka Y., Hou X., et al. Two Loci Contribute to Age-Related Hearing Loss Resistance in the Japanese Wild-Derived Inbred MSM/Ms Mice. Biomedicines 10, 2221 (2022); https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10092221.An MSM/Ms strain was established using Japanese wild mice, which exhibit resistance to several phenotypes associated with aging, such as obesity, inflammation, and tumorigenesis, compared to common inbred mouse strains. MSM/Ms strain is resistant to age-related hearing loss, and their auditory abilities are sustained for long durations. The age-related hearing loss 3 (ahl3) locus contributes to age-related hearing in MSM/Ms strain. We generated ahl3 congenic strains by transferring a genomic region on chromosome 17 from MSM/Ms mice into C57BL/6J mice. Although C57BL/6J mice develop age-related hearing loss because of the ahl allele of the cadherin 23 gene, the development of middle- to high-frequency hearing loss was significantly delayed in an ahl3 congenic strain. Moreover, the novel age-related hearing loss 10 (ahl10) locus associated with age-related hearing resistance in MSM/Ms strain was mapped to chromosome 12. Although the resistance effects in ahl10 congenic strain were slightly weaker than those in ahl3 congenic strain, slow progression of age-related hearing loss was confirmed in ahl10 congenic strain despite harboring the ahl allele of cadherin 23. These results suggest that causative genes and polymorphisms of the ahl3 and ahl10 loci are important targets for the prevention and treatment of age-related hearing loss

Polymorphisms of DNA damage response genes in radiation-related and sporadic papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) etiologically occurs as a radiation-induced or sporadic malignancy. Genetic factors contributing to the susceptibility to either form remain unknown. In this retrospective case-control study, we evaluated possible associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the candidate DNA damage response genes (ATM, XRCC1, TP53, XRCC3, MTF1) and risk of radiation-induced and sporadic PTC. A total of 255 PTC cases (123 Chernobyl radiation-induced and 132 sporadic, all in Caucasians) and 596 healthy controls (198 residents of Chernobyl areas and 398 subjects without history of radiation exposure, all Caucasians) were genotyped. The risk of PTC and SNPs interactions with radiation exposure were assessed by logistic regressions. The ATM G5557A and XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphisms, regardless of radiation exposure, associated with a decreased risk of PTC according to the multiplicative and dominant models of inheritance (odds ratio (OR) = 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.45-0.86 and OR = 0.70, 95% CI 0.59-0.93 respectively). The ATM IVS22-77 T > C and TP53 Arg72Pro SNPs interacted with radiation (P = 0.04 and P = 0.01 respectively). ATM IVS22-77 associated with the increased risk of sporadic PTC (OR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.10-3.24) whereas TP53 Arg72Pro correlated with the higher risk of radiogenic PTC (OR = 1.80, 95% CI 1.06-2.36). In the analyses of ATM/TP53 (rs1801516/rs664677/rs609429/rs1042522) combinations, the GG/TC/CG/GC genotype strongly associated with radiation-induced PTC (OR = 2.10, 95% CI 1.17-3.78). The GG/CC/GG/GG genotype displayed a significantly increased risk for sporadic PTC (OR = 3.32, 95% CI 1.57-6.99). The results indicate that polymorphisms of DNA damage response genes may be potential risk modifiers of ionizing radiation-induced or sporadic PTCs

Radiation carcinogenesis in mouse thymic lymphomas

Ionizing radiation is a well-known carcinogen for various human tissues and a complete carcinogen that is able to initiate and promote neoplastic progression. Studies of radiation-induced mouse thymic lymphomas, one of the classic models in radiation carcinogenesis, demonstrated that even the unirradiated thymus is capable of developing into full malignancy when transplanted into the kidney capsule or subcutaneous tissue of irradiated mice. This suggests that radiation targets tissues other than thymocytes to allow expansion of cells with tumorigenic potential in the thymus. The idea is regarded as the \u27indirect mechanism\u27 for tumor development. This paper reviews the indirect mechanism and genes affecting the development of thymic lymphomas that we have analyzed. One is the Bcl11b/Rit1 tumor suppressor gene and the other is Mtf-1 gene affecting tumor susceptibility

Flying Washer: Development of High-Pressure Washing Aerial Robot Employing Multirotor Platform with Add-On Thrusters

In this study, we propose a multirotor aerial robot for high-pressure washing tasks at high altitudes. The aerial robot consists of a multirotor platform, an add-on planar translational driving system (ATD), a visual sensing system, and a high-pressure washing system. The ATD consists of three ducted fans, which can generate force in all directions on the horizontal plane. The ATD also allows the multirotor to suppress the reaction force generated by the nozzle of a high-pressure washing system and inject water accurately. In this study, we propose a method to precisely inject water by installing an ATD in the multirotor and using its driving force to suppress the reaction force and move the multirotor while keeping its posture horizontal. The semi-autonomous system was designed to allow the operator to maneuver the multirotor while maintaining a constant distance from the wall by the sensor feedback with onboard LiDAR or stereo camera. In the experiment, we succeeded in performing the high-pressure washing task in a real environment and verified that the reaction force generated from the nozzle was actually suppressed during the task

Flying Washer: Development of High-Pressure Washing Aerial Robot Employing Multirotor Platform with Add-On Thrusters

In this study, we propose a multirotor aerial robot for high-pressure washing tasks at high altitudes. The aerial robot consists of a multirotor platform, an add-on planar translational driving system (ATD), a visual sensing system, and a high-pressure washing system. The ATD consists of three ducted fans, which can generate force in all directions on the horizontal plane. The ATD also allows the multirotor to suppress the reaction force generated by the nozzle of a high-pressure washing system and inject water accurately. In this study, we propose a method to precisely inject water by installing an ATD in the multirotor and using its driving force to suppress the reaction force and move the multirotor while keeping its posture horizontal. The semi-autonomous system was designed to allow the operator to maneuver the multirotor while maintaining a constant distance from the wall by the sensor feedback with onboard LiDAR or stereo camera. In the experiment, we succeeded in performing the high-pressure washing task in a real environment and verified that the reaction force generated from the nozzle was actually suppressed during the task