Origin of inner ear hair cells: morphological and functional differentiation from ciliary cells into hair cells in zebrafish inner ear

Auditory and vestibular functions in vertebrates depend on the transduction of sound vibration or head acceleration into electrical responses in inner ear hair cells. Mechanoelectrical transduction occurs at the tip of stereocilia, which are polarized to form an orientational arrangement that determines directional sensitivity. It remains to be clarified when and how premature hair cells acquire their specialized structure and function in living animals. The developmental origin of inner ear hair cells has been studied in vivo in zebrafish embryos. Tether cells, a small number of ciliated cells associated with an "ear stone" (or otolith) in the embryonic zebrafish inner ear, are believed to be precocious hair cells. However, whether or not tether cells acquire hair bundles and mechanosensitivity remains unknown. In the present study, we investigated the morphological and functional development of tether cells. Immunohistochemical examination revealed that stereocilia appeared on the tether cell apex in a polarized arrangement at 22 h postfertilization (hpf). Labeling with FM1-43, a marker of functional mechanotransduction channels, and the in vivo electrophysiological recording of mechanotransducer responses in the developing inner ear demonstrated that tether cells acquired direction-selective mechanosensitivity at 23 hpf. These results revealed that tether cells begin to function as hair cells within an hour after the appearance of a polarized array of stereociliary bundles. Thus, the ciliary cells morphologically and functionally differentiate into the first sensory hair cells in the inner ear of the zebrafish.