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Hair Cells

Hair Cells

Hair cells are the sensory receptors of the auditory system—they transduce mechanical sound waves into electrical energy that the nervous system can understand. Hair cells are located in the organ of Corti within the cochlea of the inner ear, between the basilar and tectorial membranes. The actual sensory receptors are called inner hair cells. The outer hair cells serve other functions, such as sound amplification in the cochlea, and are not discussed in detail here.

Determination

Determination

During embryogenesis, cells become progressively committed to different fates through a two-step process: specification followed by determination. Specification is demonstrated by removing a segment of an early embryo, “neutrally” culturing the tissue in vitro—for example, in a petri dish with simple medium—and then observing the derivatives. If the cultured region gives rise to cell types that it would normally generate in the embryo, this means that it is specified. In contrast, determination...

The Cochlea

The Cochlea

The cochlea is a coiled structure in the inner ear that contains hair cells—the sensory receptors of the auditory system. Sound waves are transmitted to the cochlea by small bones attached to the eardrum called the ossicles, which vibrate the oval window that leads to the inner ear. This causes fluid in the chambers of the cochlea to move, vibrating the basilar membrane.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Cryosectioning and Immunostaining Mouse Inner Ear Tissue: From Embryonic to Adult Stages

Cryosectioning and Immunostaining Mouse Inner Ear Tissue: From Embryonic to Adult Stages

Published on: April 11, 2025

Hair cell differentiation becomes tissue specific by E9.5 in mouse inner ear.

Tatsunori Sakamoto¹, Juichi Ito, Raj K Ladher

¹Lab for Sensory Development, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Japan.

|May 23, 2007

Summary

Serum-free otocyst culture reveals that mouse otocysts gain hair cell production ability between embryonic days 9.0 and 9.5. This hair cell development relies on signals from surrounding tissues, crucial for understanding embryogenesis.

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Area of Science:

Developmental biology
Otolaryngology
Cell biology

Background:

Tissue culture is vital for studying embryonic development.
Standard serum-containing media introduce unidentified factors, potentially confounding results.
Investigating hair cell fate determination requires precise experimental conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the tissue interactions governing hair cell fate in mouse otocysts.
To establish and utilize a serum-free otocyst culture system.
To determine the developmental window for hair cell generation in mouse otocysts.

Main Methods:

Utilized a serum-free otocyst culture technique.
Cultured otocysts with and without surrounding tissues from embryonic day 9.0 and 9.5 mice.
Assessed hair cell production in vitro.

Main Results:

Otocysts cultured with surrounding tissues successfully produced mature hair cells in a serum-free environment.
Isolated otocysts from embryonic day 9.5 mice generated hair cells.
Isolated otocysts from embryonic day 9.0 mice did not produce hair cells.

Conclusions:

The mouse otocyst acquires the capacity for hair cell generation between embryonic days 9.0 and 9.5.
Hair cell development in otocysts is dependent on inductive signals from the adjacent mesenchyme and/or hindbrain.
A serum-free culture system is effective for studying otocyst development and hair cell differentiation.