Distribution of expression of 2AR (osteopontin) in the embryonic mouse inner ear revealed by in situ hybridisation.

Using in situ hybridisation we have determined the distribution of expression of 2ar (also known as osteopontin, bone sialoprotein 1 or 44-kDa bone phosphoprotein) in the developing mouse inner ear. We have identified several discrete sites, both osteogenic and non-osteogenic, that express 2ar from embryonic day 16.5 (E16.5). In addition to the regions of developing bone of the calvaria and temporal bone, we have found 2ar expression in the epithelium of the sensory maculae (but not in the organ of Corti), in the vestibular and auditory ganglia and nerves (but not in the nerves that innervate the whiskers in the snout), in the epithelium that lines the endolymphatic sac (but not in the neighbouring and contiguous endolymphatic duct) and also in the epithelium that lines the semicircular canals. We found also individual cells scattered throughout the brain, loose mesenchyme and blood vessels of the head that were expressing 2ar. Several of the sites in the inner ear, for example the maculae and the endolymphatic sac, are known to be involved in the production of calcified matrix. The results extend the range of tissue types known to express the protein and demonstrate that tissues of histologically similar appearance can nonetheless differ in their gene expression.