A developmental atlas of mouse vestibular-like inner ear organoids

In 2014, a method was introduced to differentiate mouse embryonic stem cells into inner ear vestibular-like sensory epithelia in vitro. The resulting inner ear organoids represent a potentially inexhaustible source of tissues for investigating mechanosensory hair cell development, function, and responses to ototoxic and regenerative treatments. However, there has been limited exploration into how closely the molecular characteristics of organoid-derived hair cells match those that develop in vivo. To address this gap, we have employed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to generate a comprehensive atlas of inner ear organoid development at six stages, spanning the formation of definitive ectoderm to the emergence of sensory hair cells. Here, we specifically utilize our inner ear organoid atlas to define the dynamic changes in gene expression that occur during otic vesicle cell maturation into sensory epithelial supporting cells and hair cells.