Retinoblastoma gene (Rb1) is required for proper cell cycle exit in the developing mouse inner ear and its deletion in the embryo leads to proliferation of sensory progenitor cells that differentiate into hair cells and supporting cells. In the Pou4f3-Cre:Rb1 flox/flox (Rb1 cKO) inner ear, utricular hair cells differentiate and survive into adulthood whereas differentiation and survival of cochlear hair cells are impaired. To comprehensively survey the pRb pathway in the mammalian inner ear, we performed microarray analysis of Rb1 cKO cochlea and utricle.
Overall design
P6 or 2-month control and Rb1 cKO littermates were euthanized and the inner ear tissues were dissected. Total RNA was extracted from the pooled samples. Technical duplicates of the pooled RNA were used for microarray.