Figure 5. Disruption of the intercellular transfer of miRNAs between cochlear supporting cells in Cx26 KO mice.

(a,b) Intercellular transfer of miR-F in the mouse cochlear sensory epithelium. The injection site (indicated by a red asterisk in panel (a)) locates at the Hensen cell region in the cochlear sensory epithelium. (c,d) Disruption of miR-F intercellular transfer in the cochlear sensory epithelium in Cx26 KO mice. A red asterisk in panel c indicates the injection site, where locates at the Hensen cell region. (e,f) Disruption of intercellular transfer of miRNA between cochlear supporting cells in Cx26 KO mice in the isolated cell preparation. The injected miR-F is limited in the injected Hensen cell. C_in is ~75 pF, indicating that these cells are well-coupled by gap junctions. (g,h) Disruption of intercellular diffusion of miR-F but not EB between cochlear supporting cells. The pipette was filled with a mixture of miR-F and EB. An arrow indicates that a neighboring Claudius cell only has red EB labeling but no miR-F labeling. C_in is 19.3 pF, indicating that two cells are coupled. All images were captured after injection for 30 min. Scale bars: 25 μm in (a–d), 10 μm in (e–h).