ArticleScientific reports2020
Cochlear supporting cells function as macrophage-like cells and protect audiosensory receptor hair cells from pathogens.
Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- TNF-α impairs the stria vascularis by inducing pericyte apoptosis via the NF-κB pathway in gentamicin-induced hearing loss.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Article
- The aryl hydrocarbon receptor is expressed in non-sensory cells in the cochlea and regulates hair cell survival.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Article
- Association between baseline neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and short-term hearing recovery after glucocorticoid therapy in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Kolliker's Organ and Its Functional Role in the Development of Corti's Organ and Auditory Systems.Audiology research · 2025Review
- Organ of Corti macrophages: a distinct group of cochlear macrophages with potential roles in supporting cell degeneration and survival.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- High doses of radiation cause cochlear immunological stress and sensorineural hearing loss.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Macrophage depletion attenuates degeneration of spiral ganglion neurons in kanamycin-induced unilateral hearing loss model.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Effects of Therapeutic Hypothermia on Macrophages in Mouse Cochlea Explants.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Conditional Ablation of Glucocorticoid and Mineralocorticoid Receptors from Cochlear Supporting Cells Reveals Their Differential Roles for Hearing Sensitivity and Dynamics of Recovery from Noise-Induced Hearing Loss.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Avian auditory hair cell regeneration is accompanied by JAK/STAT-dependent expression of immune-related genes in supporting cells.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2022Article
- Semi-automated quantification of hair cells in the mature mouse utricle.Hearing research · 2022Article
- Role of Inner Ear Macrophages and Autoimmune/Autoinflammatory Mechanisms in the Pathophysiology of Inner Ear Disease.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Review
- No Protective Effects of Hair Cells or Supporting Cells in Ototoxically Deafened Guinea Pigs upon Administration of BDNF.Brain sciences · 2021Article
- Virus-infection in cochlear supporting cells induces audiosensory receptor hair cell death by TRAIL-induced necroptosis.PloS one · 2021Article
- Noise-Induced Hearing Loss: Updates on Molecular Targets and Potential Interventions.Neural plasticity · 2021Review
- Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Analysis Reveals Greater Epithelial Ridge Cells Degeneration During Postnatal Development of Cochlea in Rats.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
To protect the audiosensory organ from tissue damage from the immune system, the inner ear is separated from the circulating immune system by the blood-labyrinth barrier, which was previously considered an immune-privileged site. Recent studies have shown that macrophages are distributed in the cochlea, especially in the spiral ligament, spiral ganglion, and stria vascularis; however, the direct pathogen defence mechanism used by audiosensory receptor hair cells (HCs) has remained obscure. Here, we show that HCs are protected from pathogens by surrounding accessory supporting cells (SCs) and greater epithelial ridge (GER or Kölliker's organ) cells (GERCs). In isolated murine cochlear sensory epithelium, we established Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus, which infected the SCs and GERCs, but very few HCs. The virus-infected SCs produced interferon (IFN)-α/β, and the viruses efficiently infected the HCs in the IFN-α/β receptor-null sensory epithelium. Interestingly, the virus-infected SCs and GERCs expressed macrophage marker proteins and were eliminated from the cell layer by cell detachment. Moreover, lipopolysaccharide induced phagocytosis of the SCs without cell detachment, and the SCs phagocytosed the bacteria. These results reveal that SCs function as macrophage-like cells, protect adjacent HCs from pathogens, and provide a novel anti-infection inner ear immune system.
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