Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Department

Biology

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Growth hormone (GH) has been shown to play a role in and improve hair cell regeneration when injected intraperitoneally in zebrafish post-sound exposure. The purpose of this study was to examine whether exogenous GH has a prophylactic effect on auditory hair cell damage when injected prior to acoustic trauma. Groups of zebrafish were injected with either GH or buffer. Immediately following the injection, auditory hair cell damage was induced through exposure to acoustic overstimulation. Hearing tests were then performed on the fish by measuring auditory evoked potentials. Then, the fish ears were dissected either immediately post-trauma or at one, two, and three days following acoustic exposure. The dissected zebrafish saccules were stained with fluorescein-conjugated phalloidin and visualized under flourescence microscopy. Hearing loss and hair cell damage was reduced following trauma in GH-treated fish in comparison to buffer-treated fish. The results show that exogenous growth hormone has a prophylactic effect on acoustically-induced zebrafish auditory hair cell damage.

Advisor(s) or Committee Chair

Dr. Michael Smith

Disciplines

Biology

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Biology Commons

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