Figure 7.

Figure 7. LES afferent innervation pattern was comparable for Gpr156^del/+ and Gpr156^del/del utricles.

(A) P30 utricles where oncomodulin (OCM) labels striolar HCs and Advillin-positive afferents are labeled by EGFP in Advillin-Cre; TIGRE; Gpr156 animals. Advillin-Cre neurons specifically innervated lateral HCs and orientation-based segregation was not altered in Gpr156^del/del mutants. (B) Close-up views at the LES-striola border (XY and YZ views). The vast majority of HCs innervated by EGFP-positive neurons were in the the LES but Advillin-positive neurons also innervated OCM⁺ HCs in the lateral striola in both control and Gpr156 mutants. (C) Close-up view where basal bodies are labeled with pericentrin (PCNT) to reveal HC orientation (arrowheads). Lateral striolar HCs innervated by Advillin neurons were consistently oriented medially, showing that innervation from Advillin neurons strictly segregates with HC orientation, and not with striolar characteristics (OCM expression). Yellow dotted lines in A mark the outline of the utricle. Scale bars: 100 µm (A) 10 µm (B–C).