Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2021 May;34(3):585-597. doi: 10.1111/pcmr.12961. Epub 2021 Feb 2.
In the inner ear, the neural crest gives rise to the glia of the VIII ganglion and two types of melanocytic cells: The pigmented cells of the vestibular system and intermediate cells of the stria vascularis. We analyzed the transcriptome of neonatal intermediate cells in an effort to better understand the development of the stria vascularis. We found that the expression of endothelin receptor B, which is essential for melanocyte development, persists in intermediate cells long after birth. In contrast, skin melanocytes rapidly downregulate the expression of EdnrB. Our findings suggest that endothelins might have co-opted new functions in the inner ear during evolution of the auditory organ.
在内耳中，神经嵴产生 VIII 神经节的神经胶质和两种黑色素细胞：前庭系统的色素细胞和血管纹的中间细胞。我们分析了新生中间细胞的转录组，以更好地了解血管纹的发育。我们发现，内皮素受体 B 的表达在出生后很长时间内仍然存在于中间细胞中，内皮素受体 B 对于黑色素细胞的发育是必不可少的。相比之下，皮肤黑色素细胞迅速下调 EdnrB 的表达。我们的发现表明，在内耳听觉器官的进化过程中，内皮素可能在内耳中获得了新的功能。
