Hosokawa Seiji, Mizuta Kunihiro, Nakanishi Hiroshi, Hashimoto Yasuyuki, Arai Maki, Mineta Hiroyuki, Shindo Susumu, Ikezono Tetsuo
Department of Otolaryngology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
Audiol Neurootol. 2010;15(4):247-53. doi: 10.1159/000256664. Epub 2009 Nov 10.
Cochlin, a product of the COCH gene, is a major constituent of the inner ear extracellular matrix. Type II collagen, a protein that contributes to structural stability, is also a component of this extracellular matrix. In this study, using the postembedding immunogold method, we demonstrate the localization of cochlin and type II collagen in the cochlear duct at the ultrastructural level. The immunolabeling of cochlin was observed in the fibrillar substance in the spiral limbus, beneath the inner sulcus cells, and in the basilar membrane, the spiral prominence and the spiral ligament. Immunolabeling of type II collagen was observed in the same fibrillar substance in the extracellular matrix of the cochlear duct. This localization of cochlin is consistent with the expected localization of type II collagen. The localization of cochlin and type II collagen indicates the important roles played by these proteins in the hearing process.
耳蜗蛋白是COCH基因的产物，是内耳细胞外基质的主要成分。II型胶原蛋白是一种有助于结构稳定性的蛋白质，也是这种细胞外基质的组成部分。在本研究中，我们使用包埋后免疫金法，在超微结构水平上证明了耳蜗蛋白和II型胶原蛋白在耳蜗管中的定位。在螺旋缘的纤维状物质中、内沟细胞下方、基底膜、螺旋隆起和螺旋韧带中观察到了耳蜗蛋白的免疫标记。在耳蜗管细胞外基质的相同纤维状物质中观察到了II型胶原蛋白的免疫标记。耳蜗蛋白的这种定位与II型胶原蛋白的预期定位一致。耳蜗蛋白和II型胶原蛋白的定位表明了这些蛋白质在听力过程中发挥的重要作用。
