Characterization of the transcriptome of nascent hair cells and identification of direct targets of the Atoh1 transcription factor.

ABSTRACT: Hair cells are sensory receptors for the auditory and vestibular system in vertebrates. The transcription factor Atoh1 is both necessary and sufficient for the differentiation of hair cells, and is strongly upregulated during hair-cell regeneration in nonmammalian vertebrates. To identify genes involved in hair cell development and function, we performed RNA-seq profiling of purified Atoh1-expressing hair cells from the neonatal mouse cochlea. We identified >600 enriched transcripts in cochlear hair cells, of which 90% have not been previously shown to be expressed in hair cells. We identified 233 of these hair cell genes as candidates to be directly regulated by Atoh1 based on the presence of Atoh1 binding sites in their regulatory regions and by analyzing Atoh1 ChIP-seq datasets from the

SUBMITTER: Cai T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4388939 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature