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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Evaluation of Planar-Cell-Polarity Phenotypes in Ciliopathy Mouse Mutant Cochlea
Published on: February 21, 2016
Immunologically defined component of the circumferential ring around the cuticular plate in mammalian hair cells
1Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Bristol, UK.
Abstract:
A monoclonal antibody (CAR) was raised by in vitro immunisation to a component of the circumferential actin ring that is associated with the apical junctions encircling the cuticular plates of mammalian hair cells. On western blots it bound a protein band at about 42 kD, equivalent to the normal location of actin, but it did not label the paracrystalline bundle of actin filaments in the stereocilia, the complex actin filament gel that forms the cuticular plate or the filamentous actin in the cell cortex. When applied to whole mounts of the auditory sensory epithelium in the guinea pig it provided a clear, unambiguous map of the distribution of inner and outer hair cells. In this respect, it can provide an accurate guide to patterns of hair cell differentiation and repair. CAR cross-reacted with the membrane-associated cytoskeleton in selected cells from a wide range of other tissues.
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