Lab Anim Res.  2012 Jun;28(2):147-150. 10.5625/lar.2012.28.2.147.

Expression of deafness protein Tmie in postnatal developmental stages of C57BL/6J mice

• Karuppasamy S
• Nam Y
• Jung H
• Suh JG

• KMID: 1436718
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5625/lar.2012.28.2.147

Abstract

Loss-of function mutations in the transmembrane inner ear expressed (Tmie/TMIE) gene have been shown to cause deafness in mice and humans (DFNB6). Previous studies report that the circling mouse can be an animal model for DFNB6. However, the expression pattern of Tmie protein in postnatal developmental stages has not been clearly revealed. In this study we tried to investigate the expression of Tmie protein in the liver, spleen, kidney, and lung, as well as in the cochlea. We examined various tissue samples from five different age groups of C57BL/6J animals. Using western blotting analysis, the expression of Tmie protein in these organs has been identified. The results show that Tmie protein expression in the cochlea has been increased in postnatal developmental stages, indicating that Tmie plays an important role in not only the development and also in the function of the cochlea. The expression pattern of Tmie in adult mouse organs such as the liver, spleen, kidney, and spleen significantly vary in adult rats. The order of Tmie expression level in mice (63 days after birth) was spleen, liver, lung, cochlea, and kidney, whereas in the adult rat it was liver, cochlea, lung, spleen, and kidney.

Keyword

Transmembrane inner ear protein; hearing loss disorder; C57BL/6J

MeSH Terms

Adult
Animals
Blotting, Western
Cochlea
Deafness
Ear, Inner
Humans
Kidney
Liver
Lung
Mice
Models, Animal
Rats
Spleen

Figure

• 

  Figure 1 Western blot analysis of Tmie expression in C57BL/6J mice. A) Tmie expression has been identified by using the anti-Tmie antibody which was previously developed by our group [12]. A single immunoreactive band of approximately 26 kDa was observed in the cochlea, liver, spleen, kidney, and lung tissue (upper panel of each tissue). The amount of protein loaded for each lane was assessed by determining the presence of 43 kDa β-actin (lower panel of each tissue). B) Intensities from the immunoreactive bands against anti-Tmie and anti-â actin antibodies were calculated and then plotted to show the relative levels of Tmie in postnatal developmental stages. Results of two independent experiments are shown.

• 

  Figure 2 Features of Tmie protein by UniProt analysis. Signal peptide (1-28 AA), extracellular region (29-58 AA), transmembrane region (59-79 AA), cytoplasmic region (80-153 AA) and lysine-rich domain (124-153 AA).

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