Abstract
The purpose of this study was to better understand the molecular composition of the cochlea. Fibronectin (FN), a well characterized adhesive glycoprotein, was localized by inununofluorescence microscopy in fresh and fixed cochlear tissues, and in fixed kidney tissue, using a polyclonal, affinity-purified, rabbit, anti-fibronectin antibody and a secondary antibody coupled to FITC. The FN antibody was free from cross-reactivity with other known basement membrane and cell matrix molecules. FN reactivity in the cochlea was most intense in the basilar membrane, latero-basal borders of Boettcher's cells, otic capsule, endothelial basement membranes (particularly those of the stria vascularis), and as a diffuse, fan-shaped network radiating into the spiral ligament. Little FN labelling was present in the epithelial basement membranes. Negative control tissue showed no immunoreactivity; whereas, positive kidney control tissue showed appropriate FN immunoreactivity in the mesangium of the glomerulus. The most significant finding of this study was that FN is a major component of the basilar membrane and its distribution appears to correspond to the amorphous ground substance. FN was not localized in the organ of Corti or at the tips of the hair-cell stereocilia.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 91-101 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Hearing Research |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 1989 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors thank Kate Lease for her excellent technical assistance.W e also thank Karen Melstad and Robert G. Harrison for their assistance. L.T. Furcht is a Pardee Professor of Cancer Biology. Support for this research was provided by the Deafness Research Foundation, Hoffmann La-Roche, Inc, NINCDS NS12125, and NC1 CA21463 (Furcht).
Keywords
- Basilar membrane
- Chinchilla
- Cochlea
- Fibronectin
- Immunohistochenustry
- TEM