The elusive mechanotransduction machinery of hair cells.
Hair cells in the mammalian cochlea are specialized sensory cells that convert mechanical signals evoked by sound waves into electrochemical signals. Several integral membrane proteins have recently been identified that are closely linked to the mechanotransduction process. Efforts are under way to determine the extent to which they are subunits of the long thought-after mechanotransduction channel. Recent findings also suggest that mechanotransduction may have a role in fine tuning the length of the stereocilia and thus in the regulation of morphological features of hair cells that are inherently linked to the mechanotransduction process.
Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States.
Bo
B
Zhao
Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States. Electronic address: umueller@scripps.edu.
Ulrich
U
Müller
D000818:Animals; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000502:physiology*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics
D008565:Membrane Proteins