Expression patterns of miR-96, miR-182 and miR-183 in the developing inner ear

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) constitute a class of small non-coding endogenous RNAs that downregulate gene expression by binding to 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of target messenger RNAs. Although they have been found to regulate developmental and physiological processes in several organs and tissues, their role in the regulation of the inner ear transcriptome remains unknown. In this report, we have performed systematic in situ hybridizations to analyze the temporal and spatial distribution of three miRNAs (miR-96, miR-182 and miR-183) that are likely to arise from a single precursor RNA during the development and the maturation of the cochlea. Strikingly, we found that the expression of miR-96, miR-182 and miR-183 was highly dynamic during the development of the cochlea, from the patterning to the differentiation of the main cochlear structures.