title: From placode to labyrinth: culture of the chicken inner ear.
abstract: The inner ear transduces the mechanical stimuli that are associated with sound and balance perception. Missteps during its formation often result in deafness, and thus understanding otic development has a profound clinical relevance. The intricate complexity of the inner ear is derived from a simple epithelial sheet during embryogenesis. Study of this process in vitro has provided insight into the mechanisms of otic induction, patterning and differentiation. This article details methods for the culture of otic placode, otocyst, and basilar papilla, providing a toolkit for the investigation of multiple facets of otic organogenesis, for regeneration studies and for setting up small molecule screens to identify possible therapeutic targets.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Sensory Development, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, 2-2-3 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan. Electronic address: akhonda@cdb.riken.jp.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Honda
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Sensory Development, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, 2-2-3 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan. Electronic address: stephen@cdb.riken.jp.
authors.forename: Stephen D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Sensory Development, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, 2-2-3 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan. Electronic address: saix@cdb.riken.jp.
authors.forename: XiaoRei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sai
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Sensory Development, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, 2-2-3 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan. Electronic address: raj-ladher@cdb.riken.jp.
authors.forename: Raj K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Ladher
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Sensory Development, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, 2-2-3 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan. Electronic address: pauloneill@cdb.riken.jp.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: O'Neill
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002645:Chickens; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000196:embryology*; D046509:Tissue Culture Techniques
keywords: Chick; Culture; Hair-cell; Inner-ear; Otocyst; Placode