RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 LMO4 Functions As a Negative Regulator of Sensory Organ Formation in the Mammalian Cochlea
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 10072
OP 10077
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0352-14.2014
VO 34
IS 30
A1 Min Deng
A1 Xiong-jian Luo
A1 Ling Pan
A1 Hua Yang
A1 Xiaoling Xie
A1 Guoqing Liang
A1 Liang Huang
A1 Fang Hu
A1 Amy E. Kiernan
A1 Lin Gan
YR 2014
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/30/10072.abstract
AB In mammals, formation of the auditory sensory organ (the organ of Corti) is restricted to a specialized area of the cochlea. However, the molecular mechanisms limiting sensory formation to this discrete region in the ventral cochlear duct are not well understood, nor is it known whether other regions of the cochlea have the competence to form the organ of Corti. Here we identify LMO4, a LIM-domain-only nuclear protein, as a negative regulator of sensory organ formation in the cochlea. Inactivation of Lmo4 in mice leads to an ectopic organ of Corti (eOC) located in the lateral cochlea. The eOC retains the features of the native organ, including inner and outer hair cells, supporting cells, and other nonsensory specialized cell types. However, the eOC shows an orientation opposite to the native organ, such that the eOC appears as a mirror-image duplication to the native organ of Corti. These data demonstrate a novel sensory competent region in the lateral cochlear duct that is regulated by LMO4 and may be amenable to therapeutic manipulation.