Fig. 5: The cytoskeletal ultrastructure of supporting cells in the cochlea is dependent on TUBB4B.

A Schematic illustration of the organ of Corti in 1-month-old mice, with a dashed line indicating the transverse section plane used for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A’ Additional illustration of the organ of Corti, sectioned through the plane shown in (A). B TEM micrographs of inner pillar cells (IPC). Yellow arrowheads point to microtubule cross-sections. Scale bars: 1 μm (top panel), 100 nm (bottom panel). C TEM micrographs of outer pillar cells (OPC), with yellow arrowheads pointing to microtubule cross-sections. Scale bars: 1 μm (top panel), 100 nm (bottom panel). D TEM micrographs of Deiters’ cells (DC) phalangeal processes, with yellow arrowheads pointing to microtubule cross-sections. Scale bar = 500 nm. E Quantification of microtubules number per IPC. E’ Quantification of IPC microtubules density (IPC microtubules number per cell cross-section area). F Quantification of microtubules number per OPC. F’ Quantification of OPC microtubules density (OPC microtubules number per cell cross-section area). G Quantification of microtubules number per DC phalangeal processes. G’ Quantification of DC phalangeal processes microtubules density (DC microtubules number per cell cross-section area). Data are presented as mean ± SEM (n = 3 samples, three cells per sample were analyzed, unpaired t test, two-tailed). *** denotes a significance level of P < 0.001; ns not significant. IHC inner hair cell, IPC inner pillar cell, OPC outer pillar cell, OHC outer hair cell, DC Deiters’ cell.