Lower airway club cells (CCs) serve the dual roles of a secretory cell and a stem cell. Here, we probe how the CC fate is regulated. We find that, in response to acute perturbation of Notch signaling, CCs adopt distinct fates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mechanosensory hair cell of the vertebrate inner ear responds to the mechanical deflections that result from hearing or change in the acceleration due to gravity, to allow us to perceive and interpret sounds, maintain balance and spatial orientation. In mammals, ototoxic compounds, disease, and acoustic trauma can result in damage and extrusion of hair cells, without replacement, resulting in hearing loss. In contrast, non-mammalian vertebrates can regenerate sensory hair cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe inner ear perceives sound and maintains balance using the cochlea and vestibule. It does this by using a dedicated mechanosensory cell type known as the hair cell. Basic research in the inner ear has led to a deep understanding of how the hair cell functions, and how dysregulation can lead to hearing loss and vertigo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mechanosensory hair cells of the inner ear are required for hearing and balance and have a distinctive apical structure, the hair bundle, that converts mechanical stimuli into electrical signals. This structure comprises a single cilium, the kinocilium, lying adjacent to an ensemble of actin-based projections known as stereocilia. Hair bundle polarity depends on kinociliary protocadherin-15 (Pcdh15) localization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe inner ear arises from non-neural ectoderm as a result of instructions sent by surrounding tissues. These interactions progressively restrict the potential of the ectoderm, resulting in the formation of the otic placode, a disk of thickened ectoderm that will give rise to all of the inner ear derivatives and its neurons. While otic placode is a surface structure, the inner ear is internalised, embedded within the cranial mesenchyme.
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