Figure - PMC

Skip to main content

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

View full-text article in PMC

. 2021 Sep 27;15:695914. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2021.695914

Search in PMC
Search in PubMed
View in NLM Catalog
Add to search

Copyright © 2021 Tarchini.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

PMC Copyright notice

Cytoskeleton asymmetry in single hair cells and hair cell orientation at the tissue level. (A) Diagram of the apical surface of a single mouse neonate auditory HC (IHC). Cytoskeleton asymmetry in this side view includes stereocilia with graded heights by row, with the tallest row 1 on the side of the off-center basal body that nucleates the kinocilium (green). (B) Planar (en-face) view illustrating symmetry breaking and cytoskeleton asymmetry in a single developing auditory HC during late embryogenesis. The basal body (green) shifts off-center toward the lateral HC junction. Microvilli on the side of the off-center basal body grow in diameter and height to become stereocilia and form the hair bundle. With time, a bare zone deprived of microvilli (blue) emerges between the basal body and the lateral HC junction. In panels (A,B) segregation of the two distinct core PCP complexes in single HCs and their juxtaposition at the apical HC-support cell junctions are represented in magenta and yellow (see main text). (C) Diagram showing the orientation of auditory HCs in the sensory epithelium around birth. Each HC orients its planar-asymmetric apical cytoskeleton so that the off-center basal body (green) and V-shaped hair bundle point toward the lateral (abneural) side of the auditory epithelium. In all panels, arrows indicate HC orientation based on the position of the basal body/kinocilium, the shape of the hair bundle and other planar-asymmetric cytoskeletal elements.