Fast motility of isolated mammalian auditory sensory cells.
Auditory sensory cells (hair cells) are responsible for sound transduction in the cochlea of the inner ear. In the presence of a longitudinal a.c. field isolated living outer hair cells showed reversible motile responses. They followed the stimulus up to at least 1 kHz. Control experiments in the presence of cytochalasin B, phalloidin and dinitrophenol excluded actomyosin as a molecular basis of the high frequency motility. The results suggest, that outer hair cells might amplify sound-induced oscillations in the inner ear and thus increase sensitivity and frequency selectivity of hearing.
Department of Otolaryngology, University of Würzburg, W. Germany.
H P
HP
Zenner
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U
Zimmermann
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AH
Gitter
D000205:Actomyosin / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D003571:Cytochalasin B / Q000494:pharmacology; D004140:Dinitrophenols / Q000494:pharmacology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004594:Electrophysiology; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D010590:Phalloidine / Q000494:pharmacology
D004140:Dinitrophenols; D010590:Phalloidine; D003571:Cytochalasin B; D000205:Actomyosin