The arrangements of F-actin, tubulin and fodrin in the organ of Corti of the horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus rouxi) and the gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus).

The composition of cytoskeletal elements in hair cells and non-sensory cells was studied in paraformaldehyde fixed cochleae of the horseshoe bat and the gerbil using phallotoxins and antibodies directed against actin, alpha-tubulin and fodrin. In both species, cryostat sections of the organ of Corti were studied using confocal fluorescence microscopy; in the bat, ultrathin sections were investigated using actin-immunoelectron and classical electron microscopy. F-actin was found in stereocilia and cuticular plates of inner and outer hair cells (IHCs and OHCs) of both species. In fixed material from both species, no F-actin staining was detected in the cytoplasm or along the lateral cell membrane of OHCs, whereas in freshly isolated OHCs of the gerbil, a faint F-actin staining was detected along the lateral wall. In the bat, the patterns of F-actin staining were confirmed with actin-immunoelectron microscopy. The alpha-tubulin antibody strongly labeled IHCs of both species. They contained a complex network of microtubules especially in the neck portion. In the bat, OHCs showed no distinct alpha-tubulin reactivity, as would be expected given the scarcity of microtubules observed at the ultrastructural level. In the gerbil, alpha-tubulin reactivity was found throughout the OHC body with highest intensity in the cell apex. In Deiters cells, pillar cells and Boettcher cells of both species, F-actin and microtubules were colocalized at contact zones with the basilar membrane. In Deiters cups, F-actin staining was most pronounced in the basal turn of the bat cochlea. In the gerbil, a distinct baso-apical gradient was found in immunostaining properties and morphology of the Deiters cells. Intense fodrin reactivity was found in the cuticular plates and along the lateral cell membrane of both types of hair cells of the bat. Cytoplasmic fodrin staining was localized within the IHCs of the bat. In the gerbil, intense fodrin staining was only found in cuticular plates of hair cells and staining of the lateral cell membrane of hair cells was faint. A faint fodrin staining was also seen in Deiters cells of both species. The basic arrangement of the cytoskeletal elements in the batś organ of Corti is similar to that of other mammals, however, certain features suggest the presence of subtle differences in micromechanical properties: there is an increased concentration of microtubules in the neck portion of IHCs, an increase in the amount of F-actin within the Deiters cups and a reduced amount of microtubules in the OHCs.