Expression and Significance of c-Maf in Inner and Outer Hair Cells in Mice

SONG Qingling; QU Tengfei; ZHANG Wei; YU Shukui; HE Zhizhou; GONG Shusheng

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1672-2922.2018.02.017

Abstract：Objective To investigate the expression,distribution and significance of c-Maf protein in inner and out-er hair cells in the mouse cochlea.Methods(1)Inner and outer hair cells in adult mice were collected individually ac-cording to their morphological differences,and tested for RNA level c-Maf gene by GeneChip microarray.(2)Distribu-tion and expression of different developmental stages of the c-Maf protein in inner and outer hair cells on the basilar membrane were examined and recorded by confocal microscopy with immunofluorescence,while quantitative analysis of c-Maf protein was performed using the Image Pro Plus software.Results(1)The level of c-Maf gene RNA was simi-lar in cochlear inner and outer hair cells;(2)c-Maf protein was expressed in the cytoplasm of inner and outer hair cells with similar expression intensity,although expression of the protein in the infranuclear region was stronger than in the supper nuclear region in inner hair cells;(3)c-Maf protein was stably expressed in inner and outer hair cells on Day 0,7 and 12 after the birth. Conclusions The c-Maf protein is stably expressed in cochlear hair cells after birth and highly concentrated in the subnuclear region in inner hair cells in adult mice.It seems that the c-Maf protein may play an im-portant role in cellular development and function in inner and outer hair cells.