Figure 5.

Surface morphology in regions with complete loss of the reticular lamina. (A) A surface view of the organ of Corti shows flattened cells with multi-angled shapes covering areas where the reticular lamina is absent. Arrows point to the residual reticular lamina. Asterisks mark the region where the reticular lamina is no longer present and is now covered by a layer of cells with irregular polygonal shapes. (B) An enlarged view of panel A with a slight change in viewing angle. Surviving Deiters’ cells are visible with a complete loss of the reticular lamina. Asterisks indicate residual reticular lamina, and single arrows point to Deiters’ cells in the region where there is a complete loss of reticular lamina. IFIT3 immunoreactivity confirms surviving but structurally altered Deiters’ cells beneath this region. The double-arrows point to the region with complete loss of Deiters’ cells. (C) SEM image reveals a bumpy surface over the organ of Corti (lightly colored region) in a severely damaged basal region of the cochlea, indicating underlying Deiters’ cells despite the loss of the reticular lamina.