Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 10, 2026

In Ovo and Ex Ovo Methods to Study Avian Inner Ear Development
Published on: June 16, 2022
Basic helix-loop-helix gene Hes6 delineates the sensory hair cell lineage in the inner ear
Dong Qian1, Kristen Radde-Gallwitz, Michael Kelly
1Department of Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
Abstract:
The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) gene Hes6 is known to promote neural differentiation in vitro. Here, we report the expression and functional studies of Hes6 in the inner ear. The expression of Hes6 appears to be parallel to that of Math1 (also known as Atoh1), a bHLH gene necessary and sufficient for hair cell differentiation. Hes6 is expressed initially in the presumptive hair cell precursors in the cochlea. Subsequently, the expression of Hes6 is restricted to morphologically differentiated hair cells. Similarly, the expression of Hes6 in the vestibule is in the hair cell lineage. Hes6 is dispensable for hair cell differentiation, and its expression in inner ear hair cells is abolished in the Math1-null animals. Furthermore, the introduction of Hes6 into the cochlea in vitro is not sufficient to promote sensory or neuronal differentiation. Therefore, Hes6 is downstream of Math1 and its expression in the inner ear delineates the sensory lineage. However, the role of Hes6 in the inner ear remains elusive.
Related Concept Videos
Hair Cells
Multipotency and Niche of Bulge Stem Cell
The Cochlea
Unrenewable Cells
Photoreceptors
The retina is composed of several layers and contains specialized cells called photoreceptors. The photoreceptors (rods and cones) change their membrane potential when stimulated by light energy. There are two types of photoreceptors—rods and cones—which differ in the shape of their outer...
Auditory Pathway
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
Hedgehog Signaling Pathway

