Fig. 7
The expression level changes of SASE genes in D-gal-induced aging and JQ-1-treated HEI-OC1 cells. A The CCK8 results showed that the inhibitory rate of HEI-OC1 cells rises as the increased D-gal concentration (n = 6). B The ROS level increased after the HEI-OC1 treated by D-gal (n = 4). C The mRNA level of aging hallmarks in the control and D-gal treated cells (n = 3). D The protein level of p16, p21 increased as the D-gal concentration increased. E The differential expressed genes with different chromatin accessibility state. F The mRNA level changes of the top genes in different four quadrants between normal and mimic-aging cells (n ≥ 4). F The levels of H3K27ac decreased with increasing D-gal concentration. H The mRNA level changes of the SASE-linked genes in D-gal-induced aging cells (n ≥ 3). I The mRNA level changes of the SASE-linked genes after treated by JQ-1(1 μm) (n ≥ 3). J Schematic diagram of possible mechanisms underlying positive role of identified SASEs in ARHL (drawn by Figdraw). During the aging process of the cochlea, the positive regulation of candidate SASE gene expression is inhibited due to decreased chromatin accessibility, and inhibition of SE activity caused by JQ-1 could lead to similar effects. The statistical significance was represented as * p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001;****p < 0.0001