Assessment of hearing in 80 inbred strains of mice by ABR threshold analyses

The common occurrence of hearing loss in both humans and mice, and the anat omical and functional similarities of their inner ears, attest to the poten tial of mice being used as models to study inherited hearing loss. A large- scale, auditory screening project is being undertaken at The Jackson Labora tory (TJL) to identify mice with inherited hearing disorders. To assess hea ring sensitivity, at least five mice from each inbred strain had auditory b rainstem response (ABR) thresholds determined. Thus far, we have screened 8 0 inbred strains of mice: 60 of them exhibited homogeneous ABR threshold va lues not significantly different from those of the control strain CBA/CaJ. This large database establishes a reliable reference for normal hearing mou se strains. The following 16 inbred strains exhibited significantly elevate d ABR thresholds before the age of 3 months: 129/J, 129/ReJ, 129/SvJ, A/J, ALR/LtJ, ALS/LtJ, BUB/BnJ, C57BLKS/J, C57BR/cdJ. C57L/J, DBA/2J, I/LnJ. MA/ MyJ, NOD/LtJ. NOR/LtJ, and SKH2/J. These hearing impaired strains may serve as models for some forms of human non-syndromic hearing loss and aid in th e identification of the underlying genes. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Sc ience B.V. All rights reserved.