Damage-induced activation of ERK1/2 in cochlear supporting cells is a hair cell death-promoting signal that depends on extracellular ATP and calcium.

Acoustic overstimulation and ototoxic drugs can cause permanent hearing loss as a result of the damage and death of cochlear hair cells. Relatively little is known about the signaling pathways triggered by such trauma, although a significant role has been described for the c-Jun N-terminal kinase [one of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs)] pathway. We investigated the role of another MAPK family, the extracellularly regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) during hair cell damage in neonatal cochlear explants. Within minutes of subjecting explants to mechanical damage, ERK1/2 were transiently activated in Deiters' and phalangeal cells but not in hair cells. The activation of ERK1/2 spread along the length of the cochlea, reaching its peak 5-10 min after damage onset. Release of extracellular ATP and the presence of functional connexin proteins were critical for the activation and spread of ERK1/2. Damage elicited an intercellular Ca(2+) wave in the hair cell region in the first seconds after damage. In the absence of Ca(2+) influx, the intercellular Ca(2+) wave and the magnitude and spread of ERK1/2 activation were reduced. Treatment with the aminoglycoside neomycin produced a similar pattern of ERK1/2 activation in supporting cells surrounding pyknotic hair cells. When ERK1/2 activation was prevented, there was a reduction in the number of pyknotic hair cells. Thus, activation of ERK1/2 in cochlear supporting cells in vitro is a common damage signaling mechanism that acts to promote hair cell death, indicating a direct role for supporting cells in regulating hair cell death.