Vestibular semicircular canal epithelium of the rat in culture on filter support: polarity and barrier properties |
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Authors: | P G Milhaud Marie-Thérèse Nicolas Sylvain Bartolami Marie-Thérèse Cabanis Alain Sans |
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Institution: | (1) Université Montpellier II, INSERM U.432, CC089, Neurobiologie et développement du système vestibulaire, Place Eugène Bataillon, F-34095 Montpellier cedex 5, France e-mail: pmilhaud@crit.univ-montp2.fr Tel.: +33-04-67144879 Fax: +33-04-67143696, FR;(2) Laboratoire de chimie analytique et toxicologie, Université Montpellier I, 15 avenue Flahault, F-34000 Montpellier, France, FR |
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Abstract: | The inner ear of mammals contains the vestibular apparatus which is involved in the maintenance of posture and balance. The
tubular structure of the apparatus is bathed by the potassium-rich endolymph and sodium-rich perilymph in the luminal and
abluminal compartments, respectively. The luminal compartment is lined by a continuous epithelium with islets of receptor
organs, which separates the luminal from the abluminal compartment. The present work focuses on the epithelium, without the
receptor organs, and shows that it can be reconstituted in culture. The epithelium from 4-day-old Wistar rats was grown on
microporous membranes. High transepithelial electrical resistances (4000–6000 Ω·cm2)were achieved after 4–8 days in culture. The epithelium was characterized by the presence of cytokeratin, ZO-1 protein, occludin,
and the presence of tight junctions and kinocilia. The transepithelial resistance of the cell monolayer withstood endolymph/perilymph
dual bathing when the apical pole of the cells was in contact with endolymph, but collapsed in the reverse configuration.
Weak but statistically highly significant basal to apical rubidium (86Rb) transport was observed. These findings show that this epithelium maintains its in vivo polarity and could enhance the
potassium composition of endolymph up to maturity. This new culture model, in which dual bathing is possible, should enable
further in vitro studies of the sensory vestibular epithelia.
Received: 19 July 1998 / Received after revision: 10 December 1998 / Accepted: 18 December 1998 |
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Keywords: | Electron microscopy Epithelium Immunocytochemistry Ion transport Labyrinthine fluids Semicircular canals |
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