Current Research
The Cunningham Lab is interested in understanding the neural and sensory biology of the vertebrate auditory system. Many unique and highly specialized proteins with exquisitely precise subcellular localizations are critical for each step of sound processing. Hearing loss is the most common sensory deficit, and multiple forms of hearing loss involve aberrant proteostasis—improper assembly, trafficking, and/or regulation of key auditory proteins. We utilize mouse models of human deafness for our experiments. The similarities between the rodent and human auditory systems allow for a panoply of experimental manipulations that aim to uncover basic biological mechanisms and translational insights relevant for human health. The lab utilizes cutting-edge techniques including the generation and analysis of novel genetic mouse models combined with biochemistry, molecular biology, histology, viral vectors and high-resolution fluorescent microscopic imaging. Ultimately, we hope to utilize our findings toward the development of new therapies for hearing loss and deafness. To this end, we are very interested in developing gene therapy strategies that can treat hearing loss.
Selected Recent Publications
Cib2 and Cib3 are auxiliary subunits of the mechanotransduction channel of hair cells
Neuron Jun 4, 2021
X Liang*, X Qiu*, G Dionne*, Christopher L. Cunningham, ML Pucak, G Peng, Y Kim, A Lauer, L Shapiro, U Müller
*These authors contributed equally to this work
TMIE defines pore and gating properties of the mechanotransduction channel of mammalian cochlear hair cells
Neuron Apr 16, 2020
Christopher L. Cunningham*, X Qiu*, Z Wu, B Zhao, G Peng, Y Kim, A Lauer, U Müller
*These authors contributed equally to this work
Molecular structure of the hair cell mechanoelectrical transduction complex
CSHL Perspectives in Medicine May 1, 2019
Christopher L. Cunningham*, Ulrich Müller*
*Co-corresponding authors
The Murine Catecholamine Methyltransferase mTOMT is Essential for Mechanotransduction by Cochlear Hair Cells
eLife May 15, 2017
Christopher L. Cunningham, Z Wu, A Jafari, B Zhao, K Schrode, S Harkins-Perry, A Lauer, U Müller
Mechanosensory hair cells express two molecularly distinct mechanotransduction channels
Nature Neuroscience Nov 28, 2016
Z Wu, N Grillet, B Zhao, Christopher Cunningham, S Harkins-Perry, B Coste, S Ranade, N Zebarjadi, M Beurg, R Fettiplace, A Patapoutian, U Müller
Lineage tracing using Cux2-Cre and Cux2Cre-ERT2 mice
Neuron May 20, 2015
C Gil-Sanz, A Espinosa, SP Fregoso, KK Bluske, Christopher L. Cunningham, I Martinez-Garay, SJ Franco, U Müller
Microglia regulate the number of precursor cells in the developing cerebral cortex
Journal of Neuroscience Mar 6, 2013
Christopher L. Cunningham, V Martinez-Cerdeno, SC Noctor