Mutations of SLC26A4 are a common cause of human hearing loss associated with enlargement of the vestibular aqueduct. SLC26A4 encodes pendrin, an anion exchanger expressed in a variety of epithelial cells in the cochlea, the vestibular labyrinth and the endolymphatic sac. Slc26a4 Δ/Δ mice are devoid of pendrin and develop a severe enlargement of the membranous labyrinth, fail to acquire hearing and balance, and thereby provide a model for the human phenotype. Here, we generated a transgenic mouse line that expresses human SLC26A4 controlled by the promoter of ATP6V1B1. Crossing this transgene into the Slc26a4 Δ/Δ line restored protein expression of pendrin in the endolymphatic sac without inducing detectable expression in the cochlea or the vestibular sensory organs. The transgene prevented abnormal enlargement of the membranous labyrinth, restored a normal endocochlear potential, normal pH gradients between endolymph and perilymph in the cochlea, normal otoconia formation in the vestibular labyrinth and normal sensory functions of hearing and balance. Our study demonstrates that restoration of pendrin to the endolymphatic sac is sufficient to restore normal inner ear function. This finding in conjunction with our previous report that pendrin expression is required for embryonic development but not for the maintenance of hearing opens the prospect that a spatially and temporally limited therapy will restore normal hearing in human patients carrying a variety of mutations of SLC26A4.

Mutations of SLC26A4 are a common cause of hearing loss associated with enlargement of the endolymphatic sac (EES). Slc26a4 expression in the developing mouse endolymphatic sac is required for acquisition of normal inner ear structure and function. Here, we show that the mouse endolymphatic sac absorbs fluid in an SLC26A4-dependent fashion. Fluid absorption was sensitive to ouabain and gadolinium but insensitive to benzamil, bafilomycin and S3226. Single-cell RNA-seq analysis of pre- and postnatal endolymphatic sacs demonstrates two types of differentiated cells. Early ribosome-rich cells (RRCs) have a transcriptomic signature suggesting expression and secretion of extracellular proteins, while mature RRCs express genes implicated in innate immunity. The transcriptomic signature of mitochondria-rich cells (MRCs) indicates that they mediate vectorial ion transport. We propose a molecular mechanism for resorption of NaCl by MRCs during development, and conclude that disruption of this mechanism is the root cause of hearing loss associated with EES.

BackgroundSunflower is recognized as one of the most important oil plants with strong tolerance to drought in the world. In order to study the response mechanisms of sunflower plants to drought stress, gene expression profiling using high throughput sequencing was performed for seedling leaves and roots (sunflower inbred line R5) after 24 h of drought stress (15% PEG 6000). The transcriptome assembled using sequences of 12 samples was used as a reference.Results805 and 198 genes were identified that were differentially expressed in leaves and roots, respectively. Another 71 genes were differentially expressed in both organs, in which more genes were up-regulated than down-regulated. In agreement with results obtained for other crops or from previous sunflower studies, we also observed that nine genes may be associated with the response of sunflower to drought.ConclusionsThe results of this study may provide new information regarding the sunflower drought response, as well as add to the number of known genes associated with drought tolerance.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40529-017-0197-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Slc26a4 Δ/Δ mice are deaf, develop an enlarged membranous labyrinth, and thereby largely resemble the human phenotype where mutations of SLC26A4 cause an enlarged vestibular aqueduct and sensorineural hearing loss. The enlargement is likely caused by abnormal ion and fluid transport during the time of embryonic development, however, neither the mechanisms of ion transport nor the ionic composition of the luminal fluid during this time of development are known. Here we determine the ionic composition of inner ear fluids at the time at which the enlargement develops and the onset of expression of selected ion transporters. Concentrations of Na+ and K+ were measured with double-barreled ion-selective electrodes in the cochlea and the endolymphatic sac of Slc26a4 Δ/+, which develop normal hearing, and of Slc26a4 Δ/Δ mice, which fail to develop hearing. The expression of specific ion transporters was examined by quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. High Na+ (∼141 mM) and low K+ concentrations (∼11 mM) were found at embryonic day (E) 16.5 in cochlear endolymph of Slc26a4 Δ/+ and Slc26a4 Δ/Δ mice. Shortly before birth the K+ concentration began to rise. Immediately after birth (postnatal day 0), the Na+ and K+ concentrations in cochlear endolymph were each ∼80 mM. In Slc26a4 Δ/Δ mice, the rise in the K+ concentration occurred with a ∼3 day delay. K+ concentrations were also found to be low (∼15 mM) in the embryonic endolymphatic sac. The onset of expression of the K+ channel KCNQ1 and the Na+/2Cl−/K+ cotransporter SLC12A2 occurred in the cochlea at E19.5 in Slc26a4 Δ/+ and Slc26a4 Δ/Δ mice. These data demonstrate that endolymph, at the time at which the enlargement develops, is a Na+-rich fluid, which transitions into a K+-rich fluid before birth. The data suggest that the endolymphatic enlargement caused by a loss of Slc26a4 is a consequence of disrupted Na+ transport.

Bispecific degraders (PROTACs) of ERα are expected to be advantageous over current inhibitors of ERα signaling (aromatase inhibitors/SERMs/SERDs) used to treat ER+ breast cancer. Information from DNA-encoded chemical library (DECL) screening provides a method to identify novel PROTAC binding features as the linker positioning, and binding elements are determined directly from the screen. After screening ∼120 billion DNA-encoded molecules with ERα WT and 3 gain-of-function (GOF) mutants, with and without estradiol to identify features that enrich ERα competitively, the off-DNA synthesized small molecule exemplar 7 exhibited nanomolar ERα binding, antagonism, and degradation. Click chemistry synthesis on an alkyne E3 ligase engagers panel and an azide variant of 7 rapidly generated bispecific nanomolar degraders of ERα, with PROTACs 18 and 21 inhibiting ER+ MCF7 tumor growth in a mouse xenograft model of breast cancer. This study validates this approach toward identifying novel bispecific degrader leads from DECL screening with minimal optimization.