title: NompC TRP channel required for vertebrate sensory hair cell mechanotransduction.
abstract: The senses of hearing and balance in vertebrates rely on the sensory hair cells (HCs) of the inner ear. The central element of the HC's transduction apparatus is a mechanically gated ion channel of unknown identity. Here we report that the zebrafish ortholog of Drosophila no mechanoreceptor potential C (nompC), which encodes a transient receptor potential (TRP) channel, is critical for HC mechanotransduction. In zebrafish larvae, nompC is selectively expressed in sensory HCs. Morpholino-mediated removal of nompC function eliminated transduction-dependent endocytosis and electrical responses in HCs, resulting in larval deafness and imbalance. These observations indicate that nompC encodes a vertebrate HC mechanotransduction channel.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Entwicklungsbiologie, Spemannstrasse 35, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sidi
authors.forename: Rainer W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Friedrich
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nicolson
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003055:Cochlear Microphonic Potentials; D019295:Computational Biology; D003638:Deafness; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000196:embryology; D004705:Endocytosis; D015870:Gene Expression; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D006309:Hearing; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D004856:Postural Balance; D013216:Reflex, Startle; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels; D015027:Zebrafish; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; C475465:trpn1 protein, zebrafish