title: Tracing Sox10-expressing cells elucidates the dynamic development of the mouse inner ear.
abstract: The inner ear is constituted by complicated cochlear and vestibular compartments, which are derived from the otic vesicle, an embryonic structure of ectodermal origin. Although the inner ear development has been analyzed using various techniques, the developmental events have not been fully elucidated because of the intricate structure. We previously developed a Sox10-IRES-Venus mouse designed to express green fluorescent protein under the control of the Sox10 promoter. In the present study, we showed that the Sox10-IRES-Venus mouse enabled the non-destructive visualization and understanding of the morphogenesis during the development of the inner ear. The expression of the transcription factor Sox10 was first observed in the invaginating otic placodal epithelium, and continued to be expressed in the mature inner ear epithelium except for the hair cells and mesenchymal cells. We found that Sox10 was expressed in immature hair cells in the developing inner ear, suggesting that hair cells were generated from the Sox10-expressing prosensory cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that scattered Sox10-expressing cells existed around the developing inner ear, some of which differentiated into pigmented melanocytes in the stria vascularis, suggesting that they were neural crest cells. Further analyzing the Sox10-IRES-Venus mice would provide important information to better understand the development of the inner ear.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu City, Gifu 501-1194, Japan.
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wakaoka
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Motohashi
authors.forename: Hisamitsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Bunya
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kuze
authors.forename: Mitsuhiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mizuta
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kunisada
authors.forename: Yatsuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ito
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement; D003051:Cochlea / Q000196:embryology; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000196:embryology*; D004848:Epithelium / Q000196:embryology; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000166:cytology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000166:cytology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009432:Neural Crest / Q000166:cytology*; D010858:Pigmentation; D055757:SOXE Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000196:embryology
chemical_list: D055757:SOXE Transcription Factors; C527924:Sox10 protein, mouse; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins