The Notch ligand Jagged1 is required for inner ear sensory development.

ABSTRACT: Within the mammalian inner ear there are six separate sensory regions that subserve the functions of hearing and balance, although how these sensory regions become specified remains unknown. Each sensory region is populated by two cell types, the mechanosensory hair cell and the supporting cell, which are arranged in a mosaic in which each hair cell is surrounded by supporting cells. The proposed mechanism for creating the sensory mosaic is lateral inhibition mediated by the Notch signaling pathway. However, one of the Notch ligands, Jagged1 (Jag1), does not show an expression pattern wholly consistent with a role in lateral inhibition, as it marks the sensory patches from very early in their development--presumably long before cells make their final fate decisions. It has been proposed th

SUBMITTER: Kiernan AE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC31145 | biostudies-literature | 2001 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature