Abstract
The utricle is the enlarged portion of the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear and is essential for balance. It comprises of fine hair cells (mechanoreceptors), supporting cells and calcareous otoliths. Utricle cells are considered to be post-mitotic and possess a limited capacity for regeneration. Unlike birds and reptiles, mammalian mechanosensory hair cells do not regenerate. The in vitro culture of primary cells from the utricle and other inner ear structures of mammals have proven difficult. Presented here for the first time is the culture of primary cells derived from an explant of an adult human utricle, without any intervention or manipulation. Cells were proliferative until cellular quiescence occurred during passage six. Cell morphology was atypical of epithelial cells, appearing as a homogenous, slightly elongated population. Analysis of cultured utricle cells by immunofluorescent staining (IF) and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) have shown these cells to possess epithelial (Epithelium-specific ets-1 (ESE-1)), supporting hair cell (p27Kip1), and hair cell specific (Atoh1 and Myosin VI) markers. Additionally, RT–PCR revealed positive gene expression for the proliferation control marker fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) and negative gene expression for E-cadherin (CDH1), a vestibular cell differentiation marker.
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Acknowledgments
The authors with to thank Winthrop Professor Marcus Atlas for providing the valuable utricle tissue samples. This study has full human ethics approval from the St John of God Ethics Committee (St John Hospital, Subiaco, Western Australia). In addition, the authors acknowledge the facilities, scientific and technical assistance of the Australian Microscopy & Microanalysis Research Facility at the Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation & Analysis, The University of Western Australia, a facility funded by The University, State Government of Western Australia and The Commonwealth Government of Australia.
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Marano, R.J., Redmond, S.L. In vitro cultured primary cells from a human utricle explant possesses hair cell like characteristics. J Mol Hist 42, 365–370 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10735-011-9333-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10735-011-9333-7