Prestin expression in the cochlea of the reeler mouse

Because reelin and prestin genes are located close together on mouse chromosome 5, reelin homozygous mutant mice were compared with littermate controls. Experiments were designed to determine if the deletion in the reeler mouse affects the coding and/or regulatory regions for the expression of prestin, the outer hair cell motor protein. Data indicate that homozygous reeler mice express prestin mRNA and protein, as do controls. Cochlear sensitivity, determined using compound action potential thresholds measured at the round window, is also similar. Hence, threshold shifts previously observed in auditory brainstem responses are not due to cochlear problems. Because prestin expression is not affected in reeler mice, prestin's coding region, as well as any regulatory elements, is predicted to lie in the 17 kb that separate prestin's exon 1 from the end of the deletion.