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. 2013 Jan 25;123(2):740–750. doi: 10.1172/JCI66911

Figure 4. Nesprin-4 and Sun1 are expressed in the cochlea.

Figure 4

(A) qRT-PCR reveals a gradual increase in Nesp4 mRNA expression between the ages of P0 and P60. *P < 0.05. (B) Sensory hair cells are embedded within the sensory epithelium along the length of the cochlea. The cell’s nucleus is located adjacent to the basal side of the hair cell surrounded by PNS (light green) between the INM and the ONM. A transverse section of cochlear sensory epithelium at the nuclear level reveals the typical arrangement of the sensory cells with 1 row of IHC and 3 rows of OHC. (C) Immunofluorescent staining of whole-mount preparations of cochlea derived from P12 WT and Nesp4–/– littermate mice. Nesprin-4 is localized to the IHC and OHC of sensory epithelia. Staining for the OHC-specific protein prestin highlights the OHCs. In the Nesp4–/– mice, no expression of nesprin-4 was detected, with prestin staining revealing gaps in the rows of OHCs. DAPI (blue) stains the nuclei. (D) Immunofluorescent staining of whole-mount preparations of cochlea derived from P25 WT and Sun1–/– littermate mice. Sun1 is localized to the IHC and OHC of sensory epithelia. In the Sun1–/– mice, no expression of Sun1 was detected, whereas prestin stains the OHC. (E) Nuclear membrane localization of nesprin-4 is reduced in OHCs of Sun1–/– mice. Scale bars: 15 μm.