[Overexpression of Hath1 induces production of hair cell-like cells in greater epithelial ridge cell cultures from postnatal rat cochlea].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of Hath1 (human atonal homolog 1) overexpression on greater epithelial ridge (GER) cells from postnatal rat cochlea in vitro.


METHODS
GER cells were isolated by using a combinatorial approach of enzymatic digestion and mechanical separation from P1 rat cochlear. The GER cell cultures were infected by adenovirus containing Hath1 and enhanced green fluorescent protein (ad-Hath1-EGFP), while transfecting EGFP(ad-EGFP) was as controls. Immunostaining were performed at different time points after adenovirus infection.


RESULTS
Some of the infected GER cells became myosin VIIa-positive following ad-Hath1-EGFP infection. The earliest time point to see induction of hair cell differentiation (hair cell marker expression) by ad-Hathl was 5 days post-infection. In contrast, infection of the GER sheet cultures with ad-EGFP control virus did not show any myosin VIIa-positive cells at 3-12 days post-infection in all cultures examined.


CONCLUSIONS
GER cells may potentially serve as hair cell progenitors and they are capable of differentiating hair cell-like cells when forced to express Hath1.
Zhang
Yuan
Y
Institute of Otorhinolaryngology, General Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Beijing 100853, China.
Hu
Yin-Yan
YY
Guo
Wei
W
Zhai
Suo-Qiang
SQ
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003051:Cochlea / Q000166:cytology*; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000166:cytology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014162:Transfection
D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; C500942:ATOH1 protein, human