Cell biology of mechanotransduction in inner-ear hair cells.
The cloning of deafness genes, especially those for Usher syndrome, has helped to identify a variety of structural proteins involved in the development and function of hair-cell stereocilia. These include novel cadherins, a handful of myosin motors, and scaffolding proteins. Yet a new understanding of these proteins has upended the orthodox view of mechanosensation by hair cells.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115 USA. dcorey@hms.harvard.edu
David P
DP
Corey