1995 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Localization of in the inner ear by non-Rl in situ hybridization
Project/Area Number |
06671715
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Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
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Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
Research Field |
Otorhinolaryngology
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Research Institution | Hyogo College of Medicine (1995) Osaka University (1994) |
Principal Investigator |
SAKAGAMI Masafumi Hyogo College of Medicine, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (10170573)
|
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
HARADA Tamotsu Osaka University Medical School, Assistant Professor, 医学部, 講師 (30165021)
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Project Period (FY) |
1994 – 1995
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Keywords | non-Rl in situ hybridizatiom / osteopontin / otoliths / vestibular hair cells / vestibular dark cells / stria vascularis / osteocalcin / BMP-4 |
Research Abstract |
Osteopontin (OPN) is considered to be a non-collagenous bone matrix protein which is involved in the ossification process. However, OPN has recently been observed in ectopic sites such as the kidney and nervous tissues. In the present study, expression of OPN mRNA was examined in the rat inner ear by non-radioisotopic in situ hybridization. Signals of OPN mRNA were observed in the marginal cells of the stria vascularis, spiral ganglions, vestibular sensory cells and vestibular dark cells. OPN protein was detected only in otoliths by immunohistochemistry. The reasons for the presence of OPN mRNA in the cochlea and dark cells of the vestibulum were unclear. On the other hand, findings of the sacculus and utriculus suggest that OPN is one of the protein components of rat otoliths and that vestibular hair cells are involved in the production of otolith.
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