Abstract
Mechanotransducer channels at the tips of sensory stereocilia of inner ear hair cells are gated by the tension of 'tip links' interconnecting stereocilia. To ensure maximal sensitivity, tip links are tensioned at rest, resulting in a continuous influx of Ca2+ into the cell. Here we show that this constitutive Ca2+ influx, usually considered as potentially deleterious for hair cells, is in fact essential for stereocilia stability. In the auditory hair cells of young postnatal mice and rats, a reduction in mechanotransducer current, via pharmacological channel blockers or disruption of tip links, leads to stereocilia shape changes and shortening. These effects occur only in stereocilia that harbor mechanotransducer channels, recover upon blocker washout or tip link regeneration, and can be replicated by manipulations of extracellular Ca2+ or intracellular Ca2+ buffering. Thus, our data provide the first experimental evidence for the dynamic control of stereocilia morphology by the mechanotransduction current.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-28-2017
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.24661
Funding Information
This study was supported by NIDCD/NIH (R01 DC014658 and R01 DC008861 to G.I.F.) and American Hearing Research Foundation (to A.C.V.).
Related Content
Data from this article is available at Dryad Digital Repository under a CC0 Public Domain Dedication: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5cp90
Repository Citation
Vélez-Ortega, A. Catalina; Freeman, Mary J.; Indzhykulian, Artur A.; Grossheim, Jonathan M.; and Frolenkov, Gregory I., "Mechanotransduction Current Is Essential for Stability of the Transducing Stereocilia in Mammalian Auditory Hair Cells" (2017). Physiology Faculty Publications. 81.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/physiology_facpub/81
Notes/Citation Information
Published in eLife, v. 6, e24661, p. 1-22.
© 2017, Vélez-Ortega et al
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.