title: [Histological changes of peripheral vestibular organs in the inner ears of Smad4 conditional knockout mice].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the histological changes in the vestibular endorgans of Smad4 gene conditional knockout mice and to explore the influence of the Smad4 gene on vestibular development.
  
  
  METHODS
  Histological changes of periphery vestibular organs in inner ear of Smad4 conditional knockout mice were investigated by frozen sections, immunofluorescence, confocal microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no Smad4 expression in the inner ear cartilage capsule of Smad4-/- mice. In Smad4+/- mice, Smad4 expression in the same cartilage capsule was positive, and it was strong positive in Smad4+/+ mice. Smad4 expression in vestibular sense epithelium, crista ampullaris and macula, was positive. And no difference was found among these three genotypes. Studying at scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy levels and anti-filament immunofluorescence showed that no pathological changes were observed in all the three genotype mice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the Smad4 gene was knockout effectively in the auricular cartilage capsule of Smad4 conditional knockout mice,the histological changes of Smad4 conditional knockout mice in vestibulum auris internal were slightly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China. dane1971@gmail.com
authors.forename: An-chun
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Shi-ming
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: De-liang
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jian-he
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D005838:Genotype; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D051901:Smad4 Protein / Q000235:genetics*; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D051901:Smad4 Protein; C490810:Smad4 protein, mouse