Gene expression of the endolymphatic sac.
CONCLUSIONS
The endolymphatic sac is part of the membranous inner ear and is thought to play a role in the fluid homeostasis and immune defense of the inner ear; however, the exact function of the endolymphatic sac is not fully known. Many of the detected mRNAs in this study suggest that the endolymphatic sac has multiple and diverse functions in the inner ear.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive review of the genes expressed in the endolymphatic sac in the rat and perform a functional characterization based on measured mRNA abundance.


METHODS
Microarray technology was used to investigate the gene expression of the endolymphatic sac with the surrounding dura. Characteristic and novel endolymphatic sac genes were determined by comparing with expressions in pure dura.


RESULTS
In all, 463 genes were identified specific for the endolymphatic sac. Functional annotation clustering revealed 29 functional clusters.
Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. morten_friis@hotmail.com
Morten
M
Friis
Tomas
T
Martin-Bertelsen
Lennart
L
Friis-Hansen
Ole
O
Winther
Ricardo
R
Henao
Mads Sølvsten
MS
Sørensen
Klaus
K
Qvortrup
D000818:Animals; D004712:Endolymphatic Sac / Q000378:metabolism*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D012333:RNA, Messenger