Distribution of glycoconjugates during cochlea development in mice: light microscopic lectin study

During development, different epithelial cells in the mouse cochlea express different cell surface glycoconjugates, which may reflect membrane specialization. Some of the lectins tested in this study (SBA, succ-WGA, and PSA) labeled the sensory cells of the cochlea around birth. Other lectins (WGA, Con A, RCA-II, and PHA-E) labeled surfaces of the sensory cells, particularly the stereocilia, from early stages of development (gestation day (GD) 16) through 21 days after birth. These may be adhesion molecules needed to attach the newly forming tectorial membrane (TM) to the stereocilia. Lectin staining of the developing TM revealed that the substructures of the TM are biochemically distinct. Lectin staining also showed the temporal sequence of the expression of cytoplasmic glycoconjugates of the cochlear epithelium during development. Biochemical changes during development are probably the result of different cells being involved in the production of glycoconjugates, and may have functional significance, specifically with regard to the expression of adhesion and/or signaling molecules.