Analysis and identification of mitochondria-related genes associated with age-related hearing loss.

Background: To explore the mitochondrial genes that play a key role in the occurrence and development of age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and provide a basis for the study of the mechanism of ARHL.

Results: 503 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in the GSE49543 dataset. 233 genes were up-regulated, and 270 genes were down-regulated. There are 1140 genes in the mitochondrial gene bank, and 28 differentially expressed genes related to ARHL. These genes are mainly involved in mitochondrial respiratory chain complex assembly, small molecule catabolism, NADH dehydrogenase complex assembly, organic acid catabolism, precursor metabolites and energy production, and mitochondrial span Membrane transport, metabolic processes of active oxygen species. Then, Cytoscape software identified the three key genes: Aco2, Bcs1l and Ndufs1. Immunofluorescence and Western blot experiments confirmed that the protein content of three key genes in aging cochlear hair cells decreased.

Conclusion: We employed bioinformatics analysis to screen 503 differentially expressed genes and identified three key genes associated with ARHL. Subsequently, we conducted in vitro experiments to validate their significance, thereby providing a valuable reference for further elucidating the role of mitochondrial function in the pathogenesis and progression of ARHL.