title: Gadolinium blocks mechano-electric transducer current in chick cochlear hair cells.
abstract: We investigated the effects of gadolinium ion (Gd3+) on the mechano-electrical transduction (MET) current using a whole-cell patch electrode voltage clamp technique in dissociated cochlear hair cells of chicks. Gd3+ blocked the MET channel in a concentration- and voltage-dependent manner. At -50 mV, Gd3+ blocked the MET channel, with a Hill coefficient of 1.14 and a dissociation constant (KD) of 1.01 x 10(-5) M. Adaptation of the MET current disappeared after the introduction of Gd3+, a change that may be due to a decrease in inward going MET currents, specifically the Ca2+ component.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kimitsuki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hisashi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Komune
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Komiyama
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002469:Cell Separation; D002645:Chickens; D003051:Cochlea / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005682:Gadolinium / Q000633:toxicity*; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D005682:Gadolinium; D002118:Calcium