Electron microscopic autoradiographic demonstration of inositol incorporation in the cochlea.

[3H]Inositol was perilymphatically perfused into the guinea pig cochlea and the sites of its incorporation were autoradiographically identified by electron microscope. In the organ of Corti, distinct areas of inositol incorporation were observed at sites enriched with cytoskeletal proteins. In addition, a wide range of cell organelles incorporated inositol. Cell membrane/subsurface cisterna complex of the outer hair cells and the cell membrane/microvilli complex incorporated inositol more avidly than did other cell membranes. In the stria vascularis, intermediate cells incorporated inositol more frequently than cells in other areas.