The hair cell's transduction channel.
The elusive transduction channel is the key player in mechanical transduction by the sensory hair cells of the inner ear. Multiple factors have thwarted molecular identification of this channel, including the lack of a definitive pharmacological signature, the paucity of hair cells, and the uniqueness of their transduction mechanism. At present, we are forced to speculate as to the transduction channel's identity; functional characteristics suggest, however, that it may well belong to transient receptor potential superfamily of ion channels.
Oregon Hearing Research Center, L335A, Oregon Health and Science University, 3181 Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, Oregon 97201, USA.
Meredith
M
Strassmaier
Peter G
PG
Gillespie
D000818:Animals; D004423:Ear / Q000502:physiology; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels; D015398:Signal Transduction
D007473:Ion Channels