title: Mechanosensory hair cells express two molecularly distinct mechanotransduction channels.
abstract: Auditory hair cells contain mechanotransduction channels that rapidly open in response to sound-induced vibrations. We report here that auditory hair cells contain two molecularly distinct mechanotransduction channels. One ion channel is activated by sound and is responsible for sensory transduction. This sensory transduction channel is expressed in hair cell stereocilia, and previous studies show that its activity is affected by mutations in the genes encoding the transmembrane proteins TMHS, TMIE, TMC1 and TMC2. We show here that the second ion channel is expressed at the apical surface of hair cells and that it contains the Piezo2 protein. The activity of the Piezo2-dependent channel is controlled by the intracellular Ca2+concentration and can be recorded following disruption of the sensory transduction machinery or more generally by disruption of the sensory epithelium. We thus conclude that hair cells express two molecularly and functionally distinct mechanotransduction channels with different subcellular distributions.
authors.affiliation: The Solomon Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland USA.
authors.forename: Zizhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Grillet
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: The Solomon Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harkins-Perry
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille-Universite, CNRS, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Coste
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA.
authors.forename: Sanjeev
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ranade
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
authors.forename: Navid
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zebarjadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Maryline
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beurg
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fettiplace
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA.
authors.forename: Ardem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Patapoutian
authors.affiliation: The Solomon Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland USA.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Mueller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D006197:Hair / Q000378:metabolism; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000166:cytology*; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D059547:Stereocilia / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008565:Membrane Proteins; D002118:Calcium