Project description:Mammalian inner ear and fish lateral line sensory hair cells depend on fluid motion to transduce environmental signals and elicit a response. In mammals, actively maintained ionic homeostasis of the cochlear and vestibular fluid (endolymph) is essential for hair cell function and numerous mammalian hearing and vestibular disorders arise from disrupted endolymph ion homeostasis. Lateral line hair cells, however, are openly exposed to the aqueous environment with fluctuating ionic composition. How sensory transduction in the lateral line is maintained during environmental changes of ionic composition is not fully understood. Using lineage labeling, in vivo time lapse imaging and scRNA-seq, we discovered highly motile skin-derived cells that invade mature mechanosensory organs of the zebrafish lateral line and differentiate into Neuromast-associated (Nm) ionocytes. Furthermore, the invasive behavior is adaptive as it is triggered by drastic fluctuations in environmental stimuli. Our findings challenge the notion of an entirely placodally-derived lateral line and identify Nm ionocytes as likely regulators of mechanosensory hair cell function possibly by modulating the ionic microenvironment. The discovery of lateral line ionocytes provides an experimentally accessible in vivo system to study cell invasion and migration, as well as the physiological adaptation of vertebrate organs to changing environmental conditions.
Project description:Mammalian inner ear and fish lateral line sensory hair cells (HCs) detect fluid motion to transduce environmental signals. Actively maintained ionic homeostasis of the mammalian inner ear endolymph is essential for HC function. In contrast, fish lateral line HCs are exposed to the fluctuating ionic composition of the aqueous environment. Using lineage labeling, in vivo time-lapse imaging and scRNA-seq, we discovered highly motile skin-derived cells that invade mature mechanosensory organs of the zebrafish lateral line and differentiate into Neuromast-associated (Nm) ionocytes. This invasion is adaptive as it is triggered by environmental fluctuations. Our discovery of Nm ionocytes challenges the notion of an entirely placodally derived lateral line and identifies Nm ionocytes as likely regulators of HC function possibly by modulating the ionic microenvironment. Nm ionocytes provide an experimentally accessible in vivo system to study cell invasion and migration, as well as the physiological adaptation of vertebrate organs to changing environmental conditions.