Scanning electron microscopy analyses of CTR (A) and MLCK^IKO (B–F) mice.

<p>(A) CTR mice show normal hair bundles in one row of IHCs and three rows of OHCs on the basilar membrane (BM). (B–F) In MLCK^IKO mice, several ball-like structures were observed around the hair bundles of the IHCs (arrows). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–D) or 2 µm (E–F).