Fig. 2.

Abnormal OHC hair bundle shapes in Nherf1^−/− mice. (A and B) In Nherf1^−/− mice, the shapes of the OHC hair bundles are abnormal mainly in the basal cochlear region: wavy, linear, and hooked shapes are observed. (C) Abnormally shaped OHC hair bundles (light and dark greens, Lower) and normal, V-shaped hair bundles (blue) were counted in each cochlear region (basal, middle, apical) in Nherf1^−/− and wild-type mice: in Nherf1^−/− mice, 80 ± 5% of OHCs in the cochlear basal region displayed abnormal hair bundle shapes. (D) In Nherf1^−/− mice (Lower), OHC imprints on the TM at the cochlear base (also labeled by anti-stereocilin antibodies, green) predominantly correspond to misshaped arrays of OHC stereocilia. (Scale bars, 1 µm.)