GSE114034
Characterization of Lgr6+ Cells as an Enriched Population of Hair Cell Progenitors Compared to Lgr5+ Cells for Hair Cell Generation in the Neonatal Mouse Cochlea
Our previous studies showed that Lgr6+ cells are a subpopulation of Lgr5+ progenitor cells and that both Lgr6+ and Lgr5+ progenitors can regenerate Myosin7a+ HCs in vitro. Thus we hypothesized that Lgr6+ cells are an enriched population of cochlear progenitor cells. However, the detailed distinctions between the Lgr5+ and Lgr6+ progenitors have not been researched. Here, we systematically compared the proliferation, HC differentiation, and detailed transcriptome expression profiles of these two progenitor populations. We found that when isolated by flow cytometry, the same number of Lgr6+ progenitors generated significantly more Myosin7a+ HCs than Lgr5+ progenitors; however, Lgr5+ progenitors formed more epithelial colonies and more spheres than Lgr6+ progenitors in vitro. Using RNA-Seq, we compared the transcriptome differences between Lgr5+ and Lgr6+ progenitors and identified a list of significantly differential expressed genes which may regulate the proliferation and differentiation of these HC progenitors. Overall design: Using RNA-Seq, we compared the transcriptome differences between Lgr5+ and Lgr6+ progenitors and identified a list of significantly differential expressed genes which may regulate the proliferation and differentiation of these HC progenitors.