Fiber Grouping in the Feline Vestibular Nerve before and after Labyrinthectomy

1998 ◽  
Vol 107 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-212
Author(s):  
Darin L. Wright ◽  
Richard R. Gacek ◽  
Joanne E. Schoonmaker

The vestibular nerve is composed of fibers with a wide spectrum of diameters. The fibers of largest diameter are known to innervate the type I hair cells of the cristae, while the small-diameter fibers innervate the type II hair cells. Midsized fibers (dimorphic fibers) represent neurons that innervate both type I and type II hair cells. Reports by others have commented on the tendency for clustering of fibers with like diameters. Rigorous statistical proof for or against clustering has not yet been presented. The explanation for this is, in part, the mathematic complexity of analyzing clustering in a system composed of three elements. We report a new method for analysis of fiber clustering and apply this method to large-, medium-, and small-diameter fibers in the feline vestibular nerve. The fiber grouping in the caudal and rostral ends of the vestibular nerves of six normal animals is compared to that in similar areas of the nerves of five animals 12 to 17 months after unilateral labyrinthectomy. No statistically significant clustering of fiber types was found in the rostral portion of either the control or the labyrinthectomized animals. In the caudal portion of the control nerves, clustering of the large fibers was demonstrated (p <.005, χ2 test). This clustering was not demonstrated after labyrinthectomy. An explanation of these findings is discussed. The method used in this study to analyze fiber clustering may be applicable to other nerve systems of greater complexity.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhou Yu ◽  
J. Michael McIntosh ◽  
Soroush Sadeghi ◽  
Elisabeth Glowatzki

ABSTRACTIn the vestibular peripheral organs, type I and type II hair cells (HCs) transmit incoming signals via glutamatergic quantal transmission onto afferent nerve fibers. Additionally, type I HCs transmit via ‘non-quantal’ transmission to calyx afferent fibers, by accumulation of glutamate and potassium in the synaptic cleft. Vestibular efferent inputs originating in the brainstem contact type II HCs and vestibular afferents. Here, we aimed at characterizing the synaptic efferent inputs to type II HCs using electrical and optogenetic stimulation of efferent fibers combined with in vitro whole-cell patch clamp recording from type II HCs in the rodent vestibular crista. Properties of efferent synaptic currents in type II HCs were similar to those found in cochlear hair cells and mediated by activation of α9/α10 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) and SK potassium channels. While efferents showed a low probability of release at low frequencies of stimulation, repetitive stimulation resulted in facilitation and increased probability of release. Notably, the membrane potential of type II HCs measured during optogenetic stimulation of efferents showed a strong hyperpolarization even in response to single pulses and was further enhanced by repetitive stimulation. Such efferent-mediated inhibition of type II HCs can provide a mechanism to adjust the contribution of signals from type I and type II HCs to vestibular nerve fibers. As a result, the relative input of type I hair cells to vestibular afferents will be strengthened, emphasizing the phasic properties of the incoming signal that are transmitted via fast non-quantal transmission.New and NoteworthyType II vestibular hair cells (HCs) receive inputs from efferent fibers originating in the brainstem. We used in vitro optogenetic and electrical stimulation of efferent fibers to study their synaptic inputs to type II HCs. Efferent inputs inhibited type II HCs, similar to cochlear efferent effects. We propose that efferent inputs adjust the contribution of signals from type I and type II HCs that report different components of the incoming signal to vestibular nerve fibers.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhajit Bhattacharjee ◽  
Sonu Pratap Chaudhary ◽  
Sayan Bhattacharyya

<p>Metal halide perovskites with high absorption coefficient, direct generation of free charge carriers, excellent ambipolar charge carrier transport properties, point-defect tolerance, compositional versatility and solution processability are potentially transforming the photovoltaics and optoelectronics industries. However their limited ambient stability, particularly those of iodide perovskites, obscures their use as photocatalysts especially in aqueous medium. In an unprecedented approach we have exploited the photo-absorption property of the less toxic lead-free Cs<sub>3</sub>Bi<sub>2</sub>X<sub>9 </sub>(X = Br, I) nanocrystals (NCs) to catalyse the degradation of water pollutant organic dye, methylene blue (MB) in presence of visible light at room temperature. After providing a proof-of-concept with bromide perovskites in isopropanol, the perovskites are employed as photocatalysts in water medium by designing perovskite/Ag<sub>2</sub>S and perovskite/TiO<sub>2 </sub>composite systems, with Type I (or quasi Type II) and Type II alignments, respectively. Ag<sub>2</sub>S and TiO<sub>2</sub> coatings decelerate penetration of water into the perovskite layer while facilitating charge carrier extraction. With a minimal NC loading, Cs<sub>3</sub>Bi<sub>2</sub>I<sub>9</sub>/Ag<sub>2</sub>S degrades ~90% MB within an hour. Our approach has the potential to unravel the photocatalytic properties of metal halide perovskites for a wide spectrum of real-life applications. </p>


1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 558-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. F. Gardiner ◽  
B. J. Jasmin ◽  
P. Corriveau

Our aim was to quantify the overload-induced hypertrophy and conversion of fiber types (type II to I) occurring in the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle (MG). Overload of MG was induced by a bilateral tenotomy/retraction of synergists, followed by 12–18 wk of regular treadmill locomotion (2 h of walking/running per day on 3 of 4 days). We counted all type I fibers and determined type I and II mean fiber areas in eight equidistant sections taken along the length of control and overloaded MG. Increase in muscle weights (31%), as well as in total muscle cross-sectional areas (37%) and fiber areas (type I, 57%; type II, 34%), attested to a significant hypertrophic response in overloaded MG. An increase in type I fiber composition of MG from 7.0 to 11.5% occurred as a result of overload, with the greatest and only statistically significant changes (approximately 70–100%) being found in sections taken from the most rostral 45% of the muscle length. Results of analysis of sections taken from the largest muscle girth showed that it significantly underestimated the extent of fiber conversion that occurred throughout the muscle as a whole. These data obtained on the MG, which possesses a compartmentalization of fiber types, support the notion that all fiber types respond to this model with a similar degree of hypertrophy. Also, they emphasize the complex nature of the adaptive changes that occur in these types of muscles as a result of overload.


1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 995-1004 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Rusch ◽  
R. A. Eatock

1. Membrane currents of hair cells in acutely excised or cultured mouse utricles were recorded with the whole cell voltage-clamp method at temperatures between 23 and 36 degrees C. 2. Type I and II hair cells both had delayed rectifier conductances that activated positive to -55 mV. 3. Type I, but not type II, hair cells had an additional delayed rectifier conductance (gK,L) with an activation range that was unusually negative and variable. At 23-25 degrees C, V(1/2) values ranged from -88 to -62 mV in 57 cells. 4. gK,L was very large. At 23-25 degrees C, the average maximum chord conductance was 75 +/- 65 nS (mean +/- SD, n = 57; measured at -54 mV), or approximately 21 nS/pF of cell capacitance. 5. gK,L was highly selective for K+ over Na+ (permeability ratio PNa+/PK+:0.006), but unlike other delayed rectifiers, gK,L was significantly permeable to Cs+ (PCs+/PK+:0.31). gK,L was independent of extracellular Ca2+. 6. At -64 mV, Ba2+ and 4-aminopyridine blocked gK,L with apparent dissociation constants of 2.0 mM and 43 microM, respectively. Extracellular Cs+ (5 mM) blocked gK,L by 50% at -124 mV. Apamin (100 nM) and dendrotoxin (10 nM) has no effect. 7. The kinetic data of gK,L are consistent with a sequential gating model with at least two closed states and one open state. The slow activation kinetics (principal time constants at 23-25 degrees C:600-200 ms) had a thermal Q10 of 2.1. Inactivation (Q10:2.7) was partial at all temperatures. Deactivation followed a double-exponential time course and had a Q10 of 2.0. 8. At 23-25 degrees C, gK,L was appreciably activated at the mean resting potential of type I hair cells (-77 +/- 3.1 mV, n = 62), so that input conductances were often more than an order of magnitude larger than those of type II cells. If these conditions hold in vivo, type I cells would produce unusually small receptor potentials. Warming the cells to 36 degrees C produced parallel shifts in gK,L's activation range (0.8 +/- 0.3 mV/degrees C, n = 8), and in the resting potential (0.6 +/- 0.3 mV/degrees C, n = 4). Thus the high input conductances were not an artifact of unphysiological temperatures but remained high near body temperature. It remains possible that in vivo gK,L's activation range is less negative and input conductances are lower; the large variance in the voltage range of activation suggests that it may be subject to modulation.


2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manning J. Correia ◽  
Thomas G. Wood ◽  
Deborah Prusak ◽  
Tianxiang Weng ◽  
Katherine J. Rennie ◽  
...  

A fast inwardly rectifying current has been observed in some of the sensory cells (hair cells) of the inner ear of several species. While the current was presumed to be an IKir current, contradictory evidence existed as to whether the cloned channel actually belonged to the Kir2.0 subfamily of potassium inward rectifiers. In this paper, we report for the first time converging evidence from electrophysiological, biochemical, immunohistochemical, and genetic studies that show that the Kir2.1 channel carries the fast inwardly rectifying currents found in pigeon vestibular hair cells. Following cytoplasm extraction from single type II and multiple pigeon vestibular hair cells, mRNA was reverse transcribed, amplified, and sequenced. The open reading frame (ORF), consisting of a 1,284-bp nucleotide sequence, showed 94, 85, and 83% identity with Kir2.1 subunit sequences from chick lens, Kir2 sequences from human heart, and a mouse macrophage cell line, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that pKir2.1 formed an immediate node with hKir2.1 but not with hKir2.2–2.4. Hair cells (type I and type II) and supporting cells in the sensory epithelium reacted positively with a Kir2.1 antibody. The whole cell current recorded in oocytes and CHO cells, transfected with pigeon hair cell Kir2.1 (pKir2.1), demonstrated blockage by Ba2+ and sensitivity to changing K+ concentration. The mean single-channel linear slope conductance in transfected CHO cells was 29 pS. The open dwell time was long (∼300 ms at −100 mV), and the closed dwell time was short (∼34 ms at −100 mV). Multistates ranging from 3–6 were noted in some single-channel responses. All of the above features have been described for other Kir2.1 channels. Current clamp studies of native pigeon vestibular hair cells illustrated possible physiological roles of the channel and showed that blockage of the channel by Ba2+ depolarized the resting membrane potential by ∼30 mV. Negative currents hyperpolarized the membrane ∼20 mV before block but ∼60 mV following block. RT-PCR studies revealed that the pKir2.1 channels found in pigeon vestibular hair cells were also present in pigeon vestibular nerve, vestibular ganglion, lens, neck muscle, brain (brain stem, cerebellum and optic tectum), liver, and heart.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. eabd8637
Author(s):  
Jemma L. Webber ◽  
John C. Clancy ◽  
Yingjie Zhou ◽  
Natalia Yraola ◽  
Kazuaki Homma ◽  
...  

Hearing involves a stereotyped neural network communicating cochlea and brain. How this sensorineural circuit assembles is largely unknown. The cochlea houses two types of mechanosensory hair cells differing in function (sound transmission versus amplification) and location (inner versus outer compartments). Inner (IHCs) and outer hair cells (OHCs) are each innervated by a distinct pair of afferent and efferent neurons: IHCs are contacted by type I afferents receiving axodendritic efferent contacts; OHCs are contacted by type II afferents and axosomatically terminating efferents. Using an Insm1 mouse mutant with IHCs in the position of OHCs, we discover a hierarchical sequence of instructions in which first IHCs attract, and OHCs repel, type I afferents; second, type II afferents innervate hair cells not contacted by type I afferents; and last, afferent fiber type determines if and how efferents innervate, whether axodendritically on the afferent, axosomatically on the hair cell, or not at all.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinyi Zheng ◽  
Yadong Wei ◽  
Kaijuan Pang ◽  
Ngeywo Kaner Tolbert ◽  
Dalin Kong ◽  
...  

Abstract By first-principles calculations, we investigate the geometric stability, electronic and optical properties of the type-II PN-WSe2 and type-I PAs-WSe2 van der Waals heterostructures(vdWH). They are p-type semiconductors with indirect band gaps of 1.09 eV and 1.08 eV based on PBE functional respectively. By applying the external gate field, the PAs-WSe2 heterostructure would transform to the type-II band alignment from the type-I. With the increasing of magnitude of the electric field, two heterostructures turn into the n-type semiconductors and eventually into metal. Especially, PN/PAs-WSe2 vdWH are both high refractive index materials at low frequencies and show negative refractive index at high frequencies. Because of the steady absorption in ultraviolet region, the PAs-WSe2 heterostructure is a highly sensitive UV detector material with wide spectrum. The type-II PN-WSe2 heterostructure possesses giant and broadband absorption in the near-infrared and visible regions, and its solar power conversion efficiency of 13.8% is higher than the reported GaTe–InSe (9.1%), MoS2/p-Si (5.23%) and organic solar cells (11.7%). It does project PN-WSe2 heterostructure a potential for application in excitons-based solar cells.


2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 1083-1101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph C. Holt ◽  
Shilpa Chatlani ◽  
Anna Lysakowski ◽  
Jay M. Goldberg

Intracellular recordings were made from nerve fibers in the posterior ampullary nerve near the neuroepithelium. Calyx-bearing afferents were identified by their distinctive efferent-mediated responses. Such fibers receive inputs from both type I and type II hair cells. Type II inputs are made by synapses on the outer face of the calyx ending and on the boutons of dimorphic fibers. Quantal activity, consisting of brief mEPSPs, is reduced by lowering the external concentration of Ca2+ and blocked by the AMPA-receptor antagonist CNQX. Poisson statistics govern the timing of mEPSPs, which occur at high rates (250–2,500/s) in the absence of mechanical stimulation. Excitation produced by canal-duct indentation can increase mEPSP rates to nearly 5,000/s. As the rate increases, mEPSPs can change from a monophasic depolarization to a biphasic depolarizing–hyperpolarizing sequence, both of whose components are blocked by CNQX. Blockers of voltage-gated currents affect mEPSP size, which is decreased by TTX and is increased by linopirdine. mEPSP size decreases severalfold after impalement. The size decrease, although it may be triggered by the depolarization occurring during impalement, persists even at hyperpolarized membrane potentials. Nonquantal transmission is indicated by shot-noise calculations and by the presence of voltage modulations after quantal activity is abolished pharmacologically. An ultrastructural study shows that inner-face inputs from type I hair cells outnumber outer-face inputs from type II hair cells by an almost 6:1 ratio.


2000 ◽  
Vol 109 (5_suppl) ◽  
pp. 20-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kojiro Tsuji ◽  
Steven D. Rauch ◽  
Conrad Wall ◽  
Luis Velázquez-Villaseñor ◽  
Robert J. Glynn ◽  
...  

Quantitative assessments of vestibular hair cells and Scarpa's ganglion cells were performed on 17 temporal bones from 10 individuals who had well-documented clinical evidence of aminoglycoside ototoxicity (streptomycin, kanamycin, and neomycin). Assessment of vestibular hair cells was performed by Nomarski (differential interference contrast) microscopy. Hair cell counts were expressed as densities (number of cells per 0.01 mm2 surface area of the sensory epithelium). The results were compared with age-matched normal data. Streptomycin caused a significant loss of both type I and type II hair cells in all 5 vestibular sense organs. In comparing the ototoxic effect on type I versus type II hair cells, there was greater type I hair cell loss for all 3 cristae, but not for the maculae. The vestibular ototoxic effects of kanamycin appeared to be similar to those of streptomycin, but the small sample size precluded definitive conclusions from being made. Neomycin did not cause loss of vestibular hair cells. Within the limits of this study (maximum postototoxicity survival time of 12 months), there was no significant loss of Scarpa's ganglion cells for any of the 3 drugs. The findings have implications in several clinical areas, including the correlation of vestibular test results to pathological findings, the rehabilitation of patients with vestibular ototoxicity, the use of aminoglycosides to treat Meniere's disease, and the development of a vestibular prosthesis.


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