title: Auditory amplification: outer hair cells pres the issue.
abstract: Active feedback mechanisms in the ears of mammals amplify and tune the auditory response to sound stimuli, allowing these organisms to enjoy both exquisite sensitivity and sharp frequency selectivity. A requisite component of this feedback pathway has recently been identified. Targeted deletion of pres, the gene that encodes the novel membrane-bound motor protein prestin, has revealed a hundred-fold loss in hearing sensitivity suggesting that it might be part of the elusive cochlear amplifier.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Virginia, PO Box 801392, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
authors.forename: Gwénaëlle S G
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Géléoc
authors.forename: Jeffrey R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Holt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003051:Cochlea / Q000502:physiology*; D018072:Hair Cells, Auditory, Outer / Q000502:physiology*; D006309:Hearing / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins; C498720:Pres protein, mouse; D011506:Proteins