QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online September 29, 2004
doi: 10.1242/10.1242/jcs.01393

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JCS Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kitajiri, S.-i. Articles by Tsukita, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kitajiri, S.-i. Articles by Tsukita, S. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Compartmentalization established by claudin-11-based tight junctions in stria vascularis is required for hearing through generation of endocochlear potential

Shin-ichiro Kitajiri^1,2,3,*, Tatsuo Miyamoto^1,*, Akihito Mineharu⁴, Noriyuki Sonoda¹, Kyoko Furuse⁵, Masaki Hata⁵, Hiroyuki Sasaki^5,6, Yoshiaki Mori⁴, Takahiro Kubota⁴, Juichi Ito³, Mikio Furuse¹ and Shoichiro Tsukita^1,2,

¹ Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
² Solution Oriented Research for Science and Technology, Japan Science and Technology Corporation, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
³ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
⁴ Department of Physiology II, Osaka Medical College, 2-7 Daigaku-machi, Takatsuki, 569-8686 Japan
⁵ KAN Research Institute, Kyoto Research Park, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8317, Japan
⁶ Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Institute of DNA Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Nishi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105, Japan

Author for correspondence (e-mail: htsukita{at}mfour.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp)

Accepted 1 July 2004

Claudins are cell adhesion molecules working at tight junctions (TJs) that are directly involved in compartmentalization in multicellular organisms. The cochlea includes a rather peculiar compartment filled with endolymph. This compartment is characterized by high K⁺ concentration (150 mM) and a positive endocochlear potential (90 mV; EP), both indispensable conditions for cochlear hair cells to transduce acoustic stimuli to electrical signals. These conditions are thought to be generated by the stria vascularis, which is adjacent to the endolymph compartment. The stria vascularis itself constitutes an isolated compartment delineated by two epithelial barriers, marginal and basal cell layers. Because TJs of basal cells are primarily composed of claudin-11, claudin-11-deficient (Cld11^-/-) mice were generated with an expectation that the compartmentalization in stria vascularis in these mice would be affected. Auditory brainstem response measurements revealed that Cld11^-/- mice suffered from deafness; although no obvious gross morphological malformations were detected in Cld11^-/- cochlea, freeze-fracture replica electron microscopy showed that TJs disappeared from basal cells of the stria vascularis. In good agreement with this, tracer experiments showed that the basal cell barrier was destroyed without affecting the marginal cell barrier. Importantly, in the endolymph compartment of Cld11^-/- cochlea, the K⁺ concentration was maintained around the normal level (150 mM), whereas the EP was suppressed down to 30 mV. These findings indicated that the establishment of the stria vascularis compartment, especially the basal cell barrier, is indispensable for hearing ability through the generation/maintenance of EP but not of a high K⁺ concentration in the endolymph.

Key words: Claudin, Compartmentalization, Tight junction, Cochlea, Stria vascularis

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

Related articles in JCS:

Hearing through tight junctions

JCS 2004 117: 2101. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				V. A. Swystun, B. Renaux, F. Moreau, S. Wen, M. A. Peplowski, M. D. Hollenberg, and W. K. MacNaughton Serine proteases decrease intestinal epithelial ion permeability by activation of protein kinase C{zeta} Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol, July 1, 2009; 297(1): G60 - G70. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Yoshikawa, S. Go, K. Takasaki, Y. Kakazu, M. Ohashi, M. Nagafuku, K. Kabayama, J. Sekimoto, S.-i. Suzuki, K. Takaiwa, et al. Mice lacking ganglioside GM3 synthase exhibit complete hearing loss due to selective degeneration of the organ of Corti PNAS, June 9, 2009; 106(23): 9483 - 9488. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Devaux and A. Gow Tight junctions potentiate the insulative properties of small CNS myelinated axons J. Cell Biol., December 2, 2008; 183(5): 909 - 921. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Yamazaki, K. Umeda, M. Wada, S. Nada, M. Okada, S. Tsukita, and S. Tsukita ZO-1- and ZO-2-Dependent Integration of Myosin-2 to Epithelial Zonula Adherens Mol. Biol. Cell, September 1, 2008; 19(9): 3801 - 3811. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Katsuno, K. Umeda, T. Matsui, M. Hata, A. Tamura, M. Itoh, K. Takeuchi, T. Fujimori, Y.-i. Nabeshima, T. Noda, et al. Deficiency of Zonula Occludens-1 Causes Embryonic Lethal Phenotype Associated with Defected Yolk Sac Angiogenesis and Apoptosis of Embryonic Cells Mol. Biol. Cell, June 1, 2008; 19(6): 2465 - 2475. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M.-O. Trowe, H. Maier, M. Schweizer, and A. Kispert Deafness in mice lacking the T-box transcription factor Tbx18 in otic fibrocytes Development, May 1, 2008; 135(9): 1725 - 1734. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Nin, H. Hibino, K. Doi, T. Suzuki, Y. Hisa, and Y. Kurachi The endocochlear potential depends on two K+ diffusion potentials and an electrical barrier in the stria vascularis of the inner ear PNAS, February 5, 2008; 105(5): 1751 - 1756. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Cohen-Salmon, B. Regnault, N. Cayet, D. Caille, K. Demuth, J.-P. Hardelin, N. Janel, P. Meda, and C. Petit Connexin30 deficiency causes instrastrial fluid-blood barrier disruption within the cochlear stria vascularis PNAS, April 10, 2007; 104(15): 6229 - 6234. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Kono, I. A. Belyantseva, A. Skoura, G. I. Frolenkov, M. F. Starost, J. L. Dreier, D. Lidington, S.-S. Bolz, T. B. Friedman, T. Hla, et al. Deafness and Stria Vascularis Defects in S1P2 Receptor-null Mice J. Biol. Chem., April 6, 2007; 282(14): 10690 - 10696. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Shibata, H. Hibino, K. Doi, T. Suzuki, Y. Hisa, and Y. Kurachi Gastric type H+,K+-ATPase in the cochlear lateral wall is critically involved in formation of the endocochlear potential Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, November 1, 2006; 291(5): C1038 - C1048. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Hibino and Y. Kurachi Molecular and physiological bases of the k+ circulation in the Mammalian inner ear. Physiology, October 1, 2006; 21: 336 - 345. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Fujita, H. Chiba, H. Yokozaki, N. Sakai, K. Sugimoto, T. Wada, T. Kojima, T. Yamashita, and N. Sawada Differential Expression and Subcellular Localization of Claudin-7, -8, -12, -13, and -15 Along the Mouse Intestine J. Histochem. Cytochem., August 1, 2006; 54(8): 933 - 944. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]