UNLABELLED We report a novel protein domain-G8-which contains five repeated beta-strand pairs and is present in some disease-related proteins such as PKHD1, KIAA1199, TMEM2 as well as other uncharacterized proteins. Most G8-containing proteins are predicted to be membrane-integral or secreted. The G8 domain may be involved in extracellular ligand binding and catalysis. It has been reported that...

Human MYO7A mutations can cause a variety of conditions involving the inner ear. These include dominant and recessive non-syndromic hearing loss and syndromic conditions such as Usher syndrome. Mouse models of deafness allow us to investigate functional pathways involved in normal and abnormal hearing processes. We present two novel mouse models with mutations in the Myo7a gene with distinct ph...

Hearing loss is the most common sensory deficit in humans and gaining a better understanding of the underlying causes is necessary to improve counseling and rehabilitation. In the present study, a genetic analysis of a Chinese family with autosomal dominant non‑syndromic progressive hearing impairment was conducted and assessed. Whole‑exome sequencing in combination with a co‑segregation analys...

BACKGROUND Tonotopy is one of the most fundamental principles of auditory function. While gradients in various morphological and physiological characteristics of the cochlea have been reported, little information is available on gradient patterns of gene expression. In addition, the audiograms in autosomal dominant non syndromic hearing loss can be distinctive, however, the mechanism that accou...

Mutations in the GJB2 gene (connexin 26) represent a major cause of autosomal recessive non-syndromic hearing loss (NSHL) worldwide. In most Caucasian populations, the 35delG mutation in this gene was found to account for up to 50% of cases of the genetic non-syndromic childhood deafness. In populations of non-European ethnic background, other GJB2 gene mutations are occasionally common, e.g. 1...

The frequency and distribution of genetic mutations that cause deafness differ significantly according to ethnic group and region. Zhejiang is a province in the southeast of China, with an exceptional racial composition of the population caused by mass migration in ancient China. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and spectrum of gap junction‑β2 (GJB2), solute ca...