Wubbels R J, de Jong H A A, van Marle J
Vestibular Department, ENT, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
J Vestib Res. 2002;12(4):145-54.
The appearance of vestibular sensory cells and their progressive development has been the subject of many ontogenetic studies. Because deteriorating hair cells are supposed to play a role in balance disorders of the elderly, the final stage of development (i.e. senescence) has been investigated as well. It is generally assumed that the number of hair cells in crista ampullaris, saccule and utricle slowly but steadily decreases with age. However, actual data covering the period between maturation and senescence are scarce. In the present study, rat vestibular epithelia were labeled for actin and tubulin. Morphology was inspected from immediately after weaning until the age of 12 months. Although, postnatal development was no part of this study some data on one day old epithelia are presented for comparison. At postnatal day 1, hair bundles are still shorter than in mature sensory organs, the width of the zonula adherens is less, and the apical cross-sectional area of the epithelial cells is smaller. After one month, maturation is complete. Total cell density is 400-500 per 0.01 mm2, both in the otolith maculae and in the cristae ampullares. During the first year after maturation, no changes in epithelial morphology were observed and cell density remains constant.
前庭感觉细胞的出现及其逐步发育一直是许多个体发育研究的主题。由于退化的毛细胞被认为在老年人的平衡障碍中起作用，因此也对发育的最后阶段（即衰老）进行了研究。一般认为，壶腹嵴、球囊和椭圆囊中的毛细胞数量会随着年龄的增长而缓慢但持续减少。然而，涵盖成熟和衰老阶段的实际数据却很稀少。在本研究中，对大鼠前庭上皮进行肌动蛋白和微管蛋白标记。从断奶后立即开始观察形态，直至12个月龄。虽然本研究不涉及出生后发育，但提供了一些1日龄上皮的相关数据用于比较。出生后第1天，毛束仍比成熟感觉器官中的短，黏着小带的宽度较小，上皮细胞的顶端横截面积也较小。1个月后，发育成熟。在耳石斑和壶腹嵴中，每0.01平方毫米的细胞总密度均为400 - 500个。在成熟后的第一年，未观察到上皮形态的变化，细胞密度保持恒定。
