Irx3/5 Null Deletion in Mice Blocks Cochlea-Saccule Segregation and Disrupts the Auditory Tonotopic Map.

ABSTRACT: A gene cadre orchestrates the normal development of sensory and non-sensory cells in the inner ear, segregating the cochlea with a distinct tonotopic sound frequency map, similar brain projection, and five vestibular end-organs. However, the role of genes driving the ear development is largely unknown. Here, we show double deletion of the Iroquois homeobox 3 and 5 transcription factors (Irx3/5 DKO) leads to the fusion of the saccule and the cochlear base. The overlying otoconia and tectorial membranes are absent in the Irx3/5 DKO inner ear, and the primary auditory neurons project fibers to both the saccule and cochlear hair cells. The central neuronal projections from the cochlear apex-base contour are not fully segregated into a dorsal and ventral innervation in the Irx3/5 DKO cochlear n

SUBMITTER: Fritzsch B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11629443 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature