Fluorescent mRNA detection in the adult mouse cochlea.

Ossification and the delicateness of the cochlear duct make histologic assessments of the mature cochlea a challenging endeavor. Treatments to soften the bone facilitate sectioning and dissection of the cochlear duct but limit mRNA detection in such specimens. Here, we provide a protocol for mRNA detection using hybridization chain reaction in whole-mount preparations of the adult mouse cochlea. We show examples for multi-probe detection of different mRNAs and describe combination of this method with conventional immunohistochemistry.