Mark-Oliver Trowe, Hannes Maier, Marianne Petry, Michaela Schweizer, Karin Schuster-Gossler, Andreas Kispert
In the cochlea, sensory transduction depends on the endocochlear potential (EP) and the unique composition of the endolymph, both of which are maintained by a highly specialized epithelium at the cochlear lateral wall, the stria vascularis. The generation of the EP by the stria vascularis, in turn, relies on the insulation of an intrastrial extracellular compartment by epithelial basal cells. Despite the physiological importance of basal cells, their cellular origin and the molecular pathways that lead to their differentiation are unclear...
November 1, 2011: Developmental Biology