An anatomical and day–night atlas links cochlear immunity to adjacent bone marrow

The cochlea lies within marrow-bearing bone. How this neighbouring marrow relates to cochlear immunity and daily physiology remains poorly resolved. We profiled 160,643 cells from mouse cochlea and adjacent temporal-bone marrow at six times of day, with rhythm inference calibrated for one pooled sample per time. Three-dimensional confocal reconstruction mapped vascular connections between marrow and cochlea and localized neutrophils along this interface. Neutrophils also occupied healthy cochlear fluids. Parabiosis findings were consistent with a local marrow contribution to cochlear immunity. Structural cochlear cells maintained synchronized, light-entrained clocks. Cochlear neutrophil programmes aligned with circulating neutrophils and opposed those in marrow, with independent flow cytometry supporting daily changes in immune composition and CXCR4. A shared night-associated heat-shock programme was attenuated after noise in an independent cohort. These anatomical and temporal data provide a reference for testing local marrow supply and the origins of cochlear immune rhythms.

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Publication Details

Journal
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Published
2026-11-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.31.763358
Primary Topic
Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics
Type
preprint
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preprint

An anatomical and day–night atlas links cochlear immunity to adjacent bone marrow

Ruoyun He, Junmin Huang, Chunjie Tian, Joe Yeong et al.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics
preprint

An anatomical and day–night atlas links cochlear immunity to adjacent bone marrow

Ruoyun He, Junmin Huang, Chunjie Tian, Joe Yeong, Han Wang, Junfeng Hao, Hongyu Ning, Yao Cai, Dexiao Zeng, Ye Tian, Yue Xu, Weibang Chen, Shuangjie Dai, Xiaoyu Liu, Yekang Mo, Yusu Ni, Huafeng Liu
preprint en

Abstract

The cochlea lies within marrow-bearing bone. How this neighbouring marrow relates to cochlear immunity and daily physiology remains poorly resolved. We profiled 160,643 cells from mouse cochlea and adjacent temporal-bone marrow at six times of day, with rhythm inference calibrated for one pooled sample per time. Three-dimensional confocal reconstruction mapped vascular connections between marrow and cochlea and localized neutrophils along this interface. Neutrophils also occupied healthy cochlear fluids. Parabiosis findings were consistent with a local marrow contribution to cochlear immunity. Structural cochlear cells maintained synchronized, light-entrained clocks. Cochlear neutrophil programmes aligned with circulating neutrophils and opposed those in marrow, with independent flow cytometry supporting daily changes in immune composition and CXCR4. A shared night-associated heat-shock programme was attenuated after noise in an independent cohort. These anatomical and temporal data provide a reference for testing local marrow supply and the origins of cochlear immune rhythms.

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (SG), Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University (CN), Guangdong Medical College (CN), Singapore General Hospital (SG), Fudan University (CN), Singapore Immunology Network (SG), Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University (CN), Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical College Hospital (CN), Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (SG)
Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics
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