Figure 2.

β-catenin knock-out (β-cat-KO) significantly reduces the proliferation of SCs and the generation of mitotic HCs in Notch1-deletion (Notch1-KO) cochleae. A, There were no EdU⁺Sox2⁺ SC or EdU⁺Myo7a⁺ HCs in the cochleae of the control mice. B, EdU⁺Sox2⁺ SCs and Myo7a⁺ EdU⁺ HCs were detected in both the sensory region and GER from the cochleae of the Notch1-KO mice. C, There were no EdU⁺Sox2⁺ SC or EdU⁺Myo7a⁺ HCs in the cochleae of β-cat-KO mice. D, The numbers of EdU⁺Sox2⁺ SCs and EdU⁺Myo7a⁺ HCs decreased significantly in the cochleae of β-cat-KO/Notch1-KO mice. E, F, The number of EdU⁺Sox2⁺ SCs in the sensory region and GER. G, The number of Sox2⁺ SCs in the sensory region. H, Compared with the cochleae of Notch1-KO mice, the number of EdU⁺Myo7a⁺ HCs decreased significantly in the cochleae of β-cat-KO/Notch1-KO mice. I, Quantification and comparison of the number of Myo7a⁺ HCs. There was no significant difference between Notch1-KO and β-cat-KO/Notch1-KO cochleae. Data in G–I are presented as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. The dotted lines in A1 show the counting limits of SCs in the sensory region and GER. Scale bar, 50 μm.