NompC TRP channel required for vertebrate sensory hair cell mechanotransduction.
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.
Sidi
Samuel
S
Max-Planck-Institut für Entwicklungsbiologie, Spemannstrasse 35, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Friedrich
Rainer W
RW
Nicolson
Teresa
T
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*
D007473:Ion Channels; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; C475465:trpn1 protein, zebrafish