Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 15, 2025
12:02
Whole Mount Dissection and Immunofluorescence of the Adult Mouse Cochlea
Published on: January 1, 2016
56.9K
Retrograde ERK activation waves drive base-to-apex multicellular flow in murine cochlear duct morphogenesis
Mamoru Ishii1, Tomoko Tateya2, Michiyuki Matsuda1,3
1Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Elife
|March 5, 2021
Summary
Waves of ERK activation guide cell movement, driving the spiral shape of the developing cochlear duct essential for hearing. This study reveals a novel mechanism coordinating cell behavior for organ development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Cellular dynamics
- Organogenesis
Background:
- The spiral architecture of the mammalian cochlear duct is crucial for hearing.
- While signaling molecules are known, the cellular dynamics driving cochlear duct development remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the role of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation waves in controlling collective cell migration during murine cochlear duct development.
Main Methods:
- Deep tissue live-cell imaging
- Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based quantitation
- Mathematical modeling
Main Results:
- Helical ERK activation waves propagate from the cochlear duct tip.
- Reverse multicellular flow on the lateral side drives advection-based duct elongation.
- Mechanochemical feedback generates oscillatory ERK activity and cell flow waves.
Conclusions:
- ERK activation waves coordinate collective cell migration for cochlear duct elongation.
- This study proposes a regulatory mechanism for multicellular behaviors in organ development.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Auditory Pathway
6.4K
Auditory pathways constitute the complex neural circuits responsible for transmitting and interpreting auditory information from the peripheral auditory system to the brain. Sound waves are initially captured by the outer ear, funneled through the ear canal, and reach the tympanic membrane (eardrum). These vibrations are transmitted via the middle ear's ossicles to the inner ear's cochlea.
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking...
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking...
6.4K
01:13The Cochlea
48.7K
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.
48.7K