Affiliations: [a] Department of Otolaryngology, Yamaguchi University, School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi 755, Japan | [b] Department of Bioengineering and Neuroscience, Institute for Sensory Research, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
Note: [1] Reprint address: Yoichi Ogata, M.D., Department of Otolaryngology, Yamaguchi Univ. School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi 755, Japan. Tel: +81-836-22-2280; Fax: +81-836-22-2696; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: This study demonstrates the presence of calmodulin in the vestibular end-organs of the gerbil by use of immunocytochemistry. Using fluorescence microscopy, calmodulin was localized to the cytoplasm, cuticular plate, and stereocilia of both type I and type II hair cells in the sensory epithelia of the utricle and cristae ampullaris; no label was found in the supporting cells, the dark cells, or the nerve fibers. There was no immunoreactive distinction between the labeling of type I and type II hair cells in the striolar or extrastriolar regions. Thus, immunocytochemical labeling for calmodulin provides a good marker for hair cells in gerbil vestibular epithelium. The presence of calmodulin in the stereocilia was confirmed by immunoelectron microscopy using secondary antibodies coupled to colloidal gold.
