School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; The Center for Physics and Chemistry of Living Systems, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; The Center for Physics and Chemistry of Living Systems, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Biophys J. 2021 Oct 5;120(19):4142-4148. doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2021.06.036. Epub 2021 Jul 7.
The inner ear is one of the most complex structures in the mammalian body. Embedded within it are the hearing and balance sensory organs that contain arrays of hair cells that serve as sensors of sound and acceleration. Within the sensory organs, these hair cells are prototypically arranged in regular mosaic patterns. The development of such complex, yet precise, patterns require the coordination of differentiation, growth, and morphogenesis, both at the tissue and cellular scales. In recent years, there is accumulating evidence that mechanical forces at the tissue, the cellular, and the subcellular scales coordinate the development and organization of this remarkable organ. Here, we review recent works that reveal how such mechanical forces shape the inner ear, control its size, and establish regular cellular patterns. The insights learned from studying how mechanical forces drive the inner ear development are relevant for many other developmental systems in which precise cellular patterns are essential for their function.
内耳是哺乳动物体内最复杂的结构之一。它内部包含听觉和平衡感觉器官，其中排列着一系列的毛细胞，作为声音和加速度的传感器。在感觉器官中，这些毛细胞通常以规则的镶嵌模式排列。这种复杂而精确的模式的发展需要在组织和细胞尺度上协调分化、生长和形态发生。近年来，越来越多的证据表明，组织、细胞和亚细胞尺度上的机械力协调了这个非凡器官的发育和组织。在这里，我们回顾了最近的研究工作，这些工作揭示了机械力如何塑造内耳、控制其大小并建立规则的细胞模式。从研究机械力如何驱动内耳发育中获得的见解对于许多其他发育系统也是相关的，在这些系统中，精确的细胞模式对于它们的功能至关重要。
