Immunogold TEM of otoconin 90 and otolin - relevance to mineralization of otoconia, and pathogenesis of benign positional vertigo

Implementation of the deep-etch technique enabled unprecedented definition of substructural elements of otoconia, including the fibrillar meshwork of the inner core with its globular attachments. Subsequently the effects of the principal soluble otoconial protein, otoconin 90, upon calcite crystal growth in vitro were determined, including an increased rate of nucleation, inhibition of growth kinetics and significant morphologic changes. The logical next step, ultrastructural localization of otoconin 90, by means of immunogold TEM in young mature mice, demonstrated a high density of gold particles in the inner core in spite of a relatively low level of mineralization. Here gold particles are typically arranged in oval patterns implying that otoconin 90 is attached to a scaffold consisting of the hexagonal fibrillar meshwork, characteristic of otolin. The level of mineralization is much higher in the outer cortex where mineralized fiber bundles are arranged parallel to the surface. Following decalcification, gold particles, as well as matrix fibrils, presumed to consist of a linear structural phenotype of otolin, are aligned in identical direction, suggesting that they serve as scaffold to guide mineralization mediated by otoconin 90. In the faceted tips, the level of mineralization is highest, even though the density of gold particles is relatively low, conceivably due to the displacement by the dense mineral phase. TEM shows that individual crystallites assemble into iso-oriented columns. Columns are arranged in parallel lamellae which convert into mineralized blocks for hierarchical assembly into the complex otoconial mosaic. Another set of experiments based on immunogold TEM in young mice demonstrates that the fibrils interconnecting otoconia consist of the short chain collagen otolin. By two years of age the superficial layer of mouse otoconia (corresponding to mid-life human) has become demineralized resulting in weakening or loss of anchoring of the fibrils interconnecting otoconia. Consequently, otoconia detached from each other may be released into the endolymphatic space by minor mechanical disturbances. In humans, benign positional vertigo (BPV) is believed to result from translocation of otoconia from the endolymphatic space into the semi-circular canals rendering their receptors susceptible to stimulation by gravity causing severe attacks of vertigo. The combinations of these observations in humans, together with the presented animal experiments, provide a tentative pathogenetic basis of the early stage of BPV.