在斑馬魚(yú)中,，同在人類和其他脊椎動(dòng)物中一樣，聽(tīng)力和平衡是由內(nèi)耳中的機(jī)械傳感器調(diào)控的,。這些傳感器由被稱為“耳石”的,、生物礦化的混合晶體組成。
Colantonio等人利用對(duì)斑馬魚(yú)胚胎的活體視頻顯微鏡觀測(cè)發(fā)現(xiàn),，由纖毛所產(chǎn)生的液流影響“耳石”的數(shù)量,、生長(zhǎng)和定位以及它們?cè)诎l(fā)育過(guò)程中的礦化。用“嗎琳代”反義低聚核甘酸所進(jìn)行的基因剔除研究表明,，纖毛運(yùn)動(dòng)需要?jiǎng)恿Φ鞍渍{(diào)控復(fù)合物,。所以，由纖毛驅(qū)動(dòng)的流動(dòng)在控制“耳石”生物礦化中似乎是一個(gè)關(guān)鍵的外源因子,，而動(dòng)力蛋白調(diào)控復(fù)合物亞單元?jiǎng)t是人類纖毛疾病致病基因的候選物,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Nature 457, 205-209 (8 January 2009) | doi:10.1038/nature07520
The dynein regulatory complex is required for ciliary motility and otolith biogenesis in the inner ear
Jessica R. Colantonio1,5, Julien Vermot4,5, David Wu4, Adam D. Langenbacher2, Scott Fraser4, Jau-Nian Chen2,3 & Kent L. Hill1,3
1 Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics,
2 Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology
3 Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
4 Biological Imaging Center, Beckman Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
5 These authors contributed equally to this work.
In teleosts, proper balance and hearing depend on mechanical sensors in the inner ear. These sensors include actin-based microvilli and microtubule-based cilia that extend from the surface of sensory hair cells and attach to biomineralized 'ear stones' (or otoliths)1. Otolith number, size and placement are under strict developmental control, but the mechanisms that ensure otolith assembly atop specific cells of the sensory epithelium are unclear. Here we demonstrate that cilia motility is required for normal otolith assembly and localization. Using in vivo video microscopy, we show that motile tether cilia at opposite poles of the otic vesicle create fluid vortices that attract otolith precursor particles, thereby biasing an otherwise random distribution to direct localized otolith seeding on tether cilia. Independent knockdown of subunits for the dynein regulatory complex and outer-arm dynein disrupt cilia motility, leading to defective otolith biogenesis. These results demonstrate a requirement for the dynein regulatory complex in vertebrates and show that cilia-driven flow is a key epigenetic factor in controlling otolith biomineralization.
