Electroporation-mediated gene transfer to the developing mouse inner ear.

The mammalian inner ear forms from a thickened patch of head ectoderm called the otic placode. The placodal ectoderm invaginates to form a cup whose edges cinch together to establish a fluid-filled sac called the otic vesicle or otocyst. The progenitor cells lining the otocyst lumen will give rise to sensory and non-sensory cells of the inner ear.