scholarly journals Molecular Identity and Functional Properties of a Novel T-Type Ca2+ Channel Cloned From the Sensory Epithelia of the Mouse Inner Ear

2008 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 2287-2299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liping Nie ◽  
Jun Zhu ◽  
Michael Anne Gratton ◽  
Amy Liao ◽  
Karen J. Mu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inner Ear ◽  
Hair Cells ◽  
Synapse Formation ◽  
Divalent Cations ◽  
Functional Expression ◽  
Basilar Papilla ◽  
Vestibular Hair Cells ◽  
Molecular Identity ◽  
Sensory Epithelia ◽  
Permeation Properties

The molecular identity of non-Cav1.3 channels in auditory and vestibular hair cells has remained obscure, yet the evidence in support of their roles to promote diverse Ca2+-dependent functions is indisputable. Recently, a transient Cav3.1 current that serves as a functional signature for the development and regeneration of hair cells has been identified in the chicken basilar papilla. The Cav3.1 current promotes spontaneous activity of the developing hair cell, which may be essential for synapse formation. Here, we have isolated and sequenced the full-length complementary DNA of a distinct isoform of Cav3.1 in the mouse inner ear. The channel is derived from alternative splicing of exon14, exon25A, exon34, and exon35. Functional expression of the channel in Xenopus oocytes yielded Ca2+ currents, which have a permeation phenotype consistent with T-type channels. However, unlike most multiion channels, the T-type channel does not exhibit the anomalous mole fraction effect, possibly reflecting comparable permeation properties of divalent cations. The Cav3.1 channel was expressed in sensory and nonsensory epithelia of the inner ear. Moreover, there are profound changes in the expression levels during development. The differential expression of the channel during development and the pharmacology of the inner ear Cav3.1 channel may have contributed to the difficulties associated with identification of the non-Cav1.3 currents.

scholarly journals Conserved and Divergent Principles of Planar Polarity Revealed by Hair Cell Development and Function

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Deans
Keyword(s):  
Hair Cell ◽  
Inner Ear ◽  
Hair Cells ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Vestibular Function ◽  
Sensory Receptor ◽  
Apical Surface ◽  
Planar Polarity ◽  
Vestibular Hair Cells ◽  
Sensory Epithelia

Planar polarity describes the organization and orientation of polarized cells or cellular structures within the plane of an epithelium. The sensory receptor hair cells of the vertebrate inner ear have been recognized as a preeminent vertebrate model system for studying planar polarity and its development. This is principally because planar polarity in the inner ear is structurally and molecularly apparent and therefore easy to visualize. Inner ear planar polarity is also functionally significant because hair cells are mechanosensors stimulated by sound or motion and planar polarity underlies the mechanosensory mechanism, thereby facilitating the auditory and vestibular functions of the ear. Structurally, hair cell planar polarity is evident in the organization of a polarized bundle of actin-based protrusions from the apical surface called stereocilia that is necessary for mechanosensation and when stereociliary bundle is disrupted auditory and vestibular behavioral deficits emerge. Hair cells are distributed between six sensory epithelia within the inner ear that have evolved unique patterns of planar polarity that facilitate auditory or vestibular function. Thus, specialized adaptations of planar polarity have occurred that distinguish auditory and vestibular hair cells and will be described throughout this review. There are also three levels of planar polarity organization that can be visualized within the vertebrate inner ear. These are the intrinsic polarity of individual hair cells, the planar cell polarity or coordinated orientation of cells within the epithelia, and planar bipolarity; an organization unique to a subset of vestibular hair cells in which the stereociliary bundles are oriented in opposite directions but remain aligned along a common polarity axis. The inner ear with its complement of auditory and vestibular sensory epithelia allows these levels, and the inter-relationships between them, to be studied using a single model organism. The purpose of this review is to introduce the functional significance of planar polarity in the auditory and vestibular systems and our contemporary understanding of the developmental mechanisms associated with organizing planar polarity at these three cellular levels.

Tritiated thymidine in the chick embryo inner ear

1989 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 846-847
Author(s):  
Cesar D. Fermin
Keyword(s):  
Inner Ear ◽  
Hair Cells ◽  
Tritiated Thymidine ◽  
Nerve Fibers ◽  
Basilar Papilla ◽  
Short Exposure ◽  
Short Hair ◽  
Efferent Nerve ◽  
Sensory Epithelia ◽  
Dividing Cells

Development of the chick (Gallus domesticus) inner ear has been studied, and the maturation of cells that detect sound has been analyzed at the E.M. level [1,2,3]. Other workers showed correspondence between ultrastructural maturation and behavioral responses [4,5]. In mammals [6] hair cells mature after ceasation of mitosis {Fig.l}, in a pattern so that older cells are in the base of the cochlea while younger cells are in the apex [7]. But, electrophysiology indicates that cells at the base do not function first. Chicks are precocious with well developed sensory organs at birth, and their embryonic development follows, on a very short time span, a sequence that resembles that of the human ear. This study was undertaken to standarize tritiated thymidine (TT) because resolution of TT in avian embryos differs significantly from mammals [6]. Embryos were injected with 100 μl of TT, and sacrificed 1 or 2 hours later in order to label only those cells that were actively dividing cells at the time of the injection. Specimens were fixed and processed for autoradiography [6].Actively dividing cells incorporate TT after short exposure, with minimal background. It seems that vestibular sensory epithelia {Fig.2} have more dividing cells than the auditory sensory epithelia {Fig.3}, even though the vestibule develop before the cochlea. The ratio between the number of labeled cells over the length of the sensory epithelia is lower in the auditory basilar papilla (0.098 cell/(μm) than in the vestibular utricle (0.77 cell/μm) and saccule (1.66 cell/ μm). When dividing cells were analyzed in the basilar papilla alone, and their distribution displayed along the length of the cochlea over time, older cells were opposite to the VIIIth nerve fibers that innervate those hair cells. A lateral and a longitudinal gradient has been established and hair cells closer to the nerve in the mid-basal area mature earlier than hair cells at both ends of the cochlea [2]. This finding, if occuring in mammals, may explain why mid-frequency are the first to appear [5]. The first 1/3 of the chick cochlea contains mainly short hair cells and are innervated primarily by efferent nerve fibers, which arrive in the cochlea almost a week after the afferent do. Moreover, tall hair cells extend 2/3 of the cochlear length from apex to mid-base and show mature innervation patterns before the short hair cells do. In the short embryonic cochlea, frequencies may be produced first in the what will later be the mid-region because, early in development, that area contains more mature receptors [1,2,3].

scholarly journals The function and molecular identity of inward rectifier channels in vestibular hair cells of the mouse inner ear

2012 ◽  
Vol 108 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela E. Levin ◽  
Jeffrey R. Holt
Keyword(s):  
Inner Ear ◽  
Hair Cells ◽  
Inward Rectifier ◽  
Molecular Composition ◽  
Equilibrium Potential ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Vestibular Hair Cells ◽  
Molecular Identity ◽  
Voltage Dependent

Inner ear hair cells respond to mechanical stimuli with graded receptor potentials. These graded responses are modulated by a host of voltage-dependent currents that flow across the basolateral membrane. Here, we examine the molecular identity and the function of a class of voltage-dependent ion channels that carries the potassium-selective inward rectifier current known as IK1. IK1has been identified in vestibular hair cells of various species, but its molecular composition and functional contributions remain obscure. We used quantitative RT-PCR to show that the inward rectifier gene, Kir2.1, is highly expressed in mouse utricle between embryonic day 15 and adulthood. We confirmed Kir2.1 protein expression in hair cells by immunolocalization. To examine the molecular composition of IK1, we recorded voltage-dependent currents from type II hair cells in response to 50-ms steps from −124 to −54 in 10-mV increments. Wild-type cells had rapidly activating inward currents with reversal potentials close to the K+equilibrium potential and a whole-cell conductance of 4.8 ± 1.5 nS ( n = 46). In utricle hair cells from Kir2.1-deficient (Kir2.1−/−) mice, IK1was absent at all stages examined. To identify the functional contribution of Kir2.1, we recorded membrane responses in current-clamp mode. Hair cells from Kir2.1−/−mice had significantly ( P < 0.001) more depolarized resting potentials and larger, slower membrane responses than those of wild-type cells. These data suggest that Kir2.1 is required for IK1in type II utricle hair cells and contributes to hyperpolarized resting potentials and fast, small amplitude receptor potentials in response to current inputs, such as those evoked by hair bundle deflections.

Ionic Currents and Electromotility in Inner Ear Hair Cells From Humans

1998 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 2235-2239 ◽  
Author(s):  
John S. Oghalai ◽  
Jeffrey R. Holt ◽  
Takashi Nakagawa ◽  
Thomas M. Jung ◽  
Newton J. Coker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inner Ear ◽  
Hair Cells ◽  
Ionic Currents ◽  
Sensory Epithelium ◽  
Outer Hair Cells ◽  
Sensory Receptor ◽  
Surgical Removal ◽  
Type I ◽  
Vestibular Hair Cells ◽  
Sensory Receptor Cells

Oghalai, John S., Jeffrey R. Holt, Takashi Nakagawa, Thomas M. Jung, Newton J. Coker, Herman A. Jenkins, Ruth Anne Eatock, and William E. Brownell. Ionic currents and electromotility in inner ear hair cells from humans. J. Neurophysiol. 79: 2235–2239, 1998. The upright posture and rich vocalizations of primates place demands on their senses of balance and hearing that differ from those of other animals. There is a wealth of behavioral, psychophysical, and CNS measures characterizing these senses in primates, but no prior recordings from their inner ear sensory receptor cells. We harvested human hair cells from patients undergoing surgical removal of life-threatening brain stem tumors and measured their ionic currents and electromotile responses. The hair cells were either isolated or left in situ in their sensory epithelium and investigated using the tight-seal, whole cell technique. We recorded from both type I and type II vestibular hair cells under voltage clamp and found four voltage-dependent currents, each of which has been reported in hair cells of other animals. Cochlear outer hair cells demonstrated electromotility in response to voltage steps like that seen in rodent animal models. Our results reveal many qualitative similarities to hair cells obtained from other animals and justify continued investigations to explore quantitative differences that may be associated with normal or pathological human sensation.

Delta1 expression during avian hair cell regeneration

Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (5) ◽  
pp. 961-973 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.S. Stone ◽  
E.W. Rubel
Keyword(s):  
Hair Cell ◽  
Inner Ear ◽  
Hair Cells ◽  
Cell Injury ◽  
Basilar Papilla ◽  
Cell Regeneration ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Hair Cell Regeneration ◽  
Drug Induced ◽  
In Cells

Postembryonic production of hair cells, the highly specialized receptors for hearing, balance and motion detection, occurs in a precisely controlled manner in select species, including avians. Notch1, Delta1 and Serrate1 mediate cell specification in several tissues and species. We examined expression of the chicken homologs of these genes in the normal and drug-damaged chick inner ear to determine if signaling through this pathway changes during hair cell regeneration. In untreated post-hatch chicks, Delta1 mRNA is abundant in a subpopulation of cells in the utricle, which undergoes continual postembryonic hair cell production, but it is absent from all cells in the basilar papilla, which is mitotically quiescent. By 3 days after drug-induced hair cell injury, Delta1 expression is highly upregulated in areas of cell proliferation in both the utricle and basilar papilla. Delta1 mRNA levels are elevated in progenitor cells during DNA synthesis and/or gap 2 phases of the cell cycle and expression is maintained in both daughter cells immediately after mitosis. Delta1 expression remains upregulated in cells that differentiate into hair cells and is downregulated in cells that do not acquire the hair cell fate. Delta1 mRNA levels return to normal by 10 days after hair cell injury. Serrate1 is expressed in both hair cells and support cells in the utricle and basilar papilla, and its expression does not change during the course of drug-induced hair cell regeneration. In contrast, Notch1 expression, which is limited to support cells in the quiescent epithelium, is increased in post-M-phase cell pairs during hair cell regeneration. This study provides initial evidence that Delta-Notch signaling may be involved in maintaining the correct cell types and patterns during postembryonic replacement of sensory epithelial cells in the chick inner ear.

scholarly journals Celsr1 coordinates the planar polarity of vestibular hair cells during inner ear development

2017 ◽  
Vol 423 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy S. Duncan ◽  
Michelle L. Stoller ◽  
Andrew F. Francl ◽  
Fadel Tissir ◽  
Danelle Devenport ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inner Ear ◽  
Hair Cells ◽  
Planar Polarity ◽  
Ear Development ◽  
Vestibular Hair Cells ◽  
Inner Ear Development

scholarly journals Aquaporin-6 Expression in the Cochlear Sensory Epithelium Is Downregulated by Salicylates

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Perin ◽  
Simona Tritto ◽  
Laura Botta ◽  
Jacopo Maria Fontana ◽  
Giulia Gastaldi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inner Ear ◽  
Expression Pattern ◽  
Hair Cells ◽  
Organ Of Corti ◽  
Sensory Epithelium ◽  
Outer Hair Cells ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Supporting Cells ◽  
Sensory Epithelia ◽  
Mechanical Compliance

We characterize the expression pattern of aquaporin-6 in the mouse inner ear by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Our data show that in the inner ear aquaporin-6 is expressed, in both vestibular and acoustic sensory epithelia, by the supporting cells directly contacting hair cells. In particular, in the Organ of Corti, expression was strongest in Deiters' cells, which provide both a mechanical link between outer hair cells (OHCs) and the Organ of Corti, and an entry point for ion recycle pathways. Since aquaporin-6 is permeable to both water and anions, these results suggest its possible involvement in regulating OHC motility, directly through modulation of water and chloride flow or by changing mechanical compliance in Deiters' cells. In further support of this role, treating mice with salicylates, which impair OHC electromotility, dramatically reduced aquaporin-6 expression in the inner ear epithelia but not in control tissues, suggesting a role for this protein in modulating OHCs' responses.

scholarly journals Permeation properties of the hair cell mechanotransducer channel provide insight into its molecular structure

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 (9) ◽  
pp. 2408-2420 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Pan ◽  
J. Waguespack ◽  
M. E. Schnee ◽  
C. LeBlanc ◽  
A. J. Ricci
Keyword(s):  
Hair Cells ◽  
Apparent Difference ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Critical Function ◽  
Molecular Identity ◽  
Sensory Hair Cells ◽  
Molecular Components ◽  
Channel Properties ◽  
Permeation Properties ◽  
Insight Into

Mechanoelectric transducer (MET) channels, located near stereocilia tips, are opened by deflecting the hair bundle of sensory hair cells. Defects in this process result in deafness. Despite this critical function, the molecular identity of MET channels remains a mystery. Inherent channel properties, particularly those associated with permeation, provide the backbone for the molecular identification of ion channels. Here, a novel channel rectification mechanism is identified, resulting in a reduced pore size at positive potentials. The apparent difference in pore dimensions results from Ca2+ binding within the pore, occluding permeation. Driving force for permeation at hyperpolarized potentials is increased because Ca2+ can more easily be removed from binding within the pore due to the presence of an electronegative external vestibule that dehydrates and concentrates permeating ions. Alterations in Ca2+ binding may underlie tonotopic and Ca2+-dependent variations in channel conductance. This Ca2+-dependent rectification provides targets for identifying the molecular components of the MET channel.

scholarly journals SK Current, Expressed During the Development and Regeneration of Chick Hair Cells, Contributes to the Patterning of Spontaneous Action Potentials

2022 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Snezana Levic
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Activity ◽  
Hair Cells ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Functional Expression ◽  
Basilar Papilla ◽  
Spontaneous Electrical Activity ◽  
Intracellular Ca ◽  
Spontaneous Action ◽  
Spontaneous Action Potentials

Chick hair cells display calcium (Ca2+)-sensitive spontaneous action potentials during development and regeneration. The role of this activity is unclear but thought to be involved in establishing proper synaptic connections and tonotopic maps, both of which are instrumental to normal hearing. Using an electrophysiological approach, this work investigated the functional expression of Ca2+-sensitive potassium [IK(Ca)] currents and their role in spontaneous electrical activity in the developing and regenerating hair cells (HCs) in the chick basilar papilla. The main IK(Ca) in developing and regenerating chick HCs is an SK current, based on its sensitivity to apamin. Analysis of the functional expression of SK current showed that most dramatic changes occurred between E8 and E16. Specifically, there is a developmental downregulation of the SK current after E16. The SK current gating was very sensitive to the availability of intracellular Ca2+ but showed very little sensitivity to T-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, which are one of the hallmarks of developing and regenerating hair cells. Additionally, apamin reduced the frequency of spontaneous electrical activity in HCs, suggesting that SK current participates in patterning the spontaneous electrical activity of HCs.

Channeling your inner ear potassium: K+ channels in vestibular hair cells

2016 ◽  
Vol 338 ◽  
pp. 40-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances L. Meredith ◽  
Katherine J. Rennie
Keyword(s):  
Inner Ear ◽  
Hair Cells ◽  
K Channels ◽  
Vestibular Hair Cells
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