Tonotopic variation in the conductance of the hair cell mechanotransducer channel

The physiology of mechanoelectrical transduction channels in hearing

Much is known about the mechanotransducer (MT) channels mediating transduction in hair cells of the vertrbrate inner ear. With the use of isolated preparations, it is experimentally feasible to deliver precise mechanical stimuli to individual cells and record the ensuing transducer currents. This approach has shown that small (1-100 nm) deflections of the hair-cell stereociliary bundle are transmitted via interciliary tip links to open MT channels at the tops of the stereocilia. These channels are cation-permeable with a high selectivity for Ca(2+); two channels are thought to be localized at the lower end of the tip link, each with a large single-channel conductance that increases from the low- to high-frequency end of the cochlea. Ca(2+) influx through open channels regulates their resting open probability, which may contribute to setting the hair cell resting potential in vivo. Ca(2+) also controls transducer fast adaptation and force generation by the hair bundle, the two coupled processes increasing in speed from cochlear apex to base. The molecular intricacy of the stereocilary bundle and the transduction apparatus is reflected by the large number of single-gene mutations that are linked to sensorineural deafness, especially those in Usher syndrome. Studies of such mutants have led to the discovery of many of the molecules of the transduction complex, including the tip link and its attachments to the stereociliary core. However, the MT channel protein is still not firmly identified, nor is it known whether the channel is activated by force delivered through accessory proteins or by deformation of the lipid bilayer.

Changes in cochlear PMCA2 expression correlate with the maturation of auditory sensitivity

The plasma membrane Ca(2+) ATPase 2 (PMCA2) is necessary for auditory transduction and serves as the primary Ca(2+) extrusion mechanism in auditory stereocilia bundles. To date, studies examining PMCA2 in auditory function using mutant mice have focused on the phenotype of late adolescent and adult mice. Here, we focus on the changes of PMCA2 in the maturation of auditory sensitivity by comparing auditory responses to RNA and protein expression levels in haploinsufficient PMCA2 and wild-type mice from P16 into adulthood. Auditory sensitivity in wild-type mice improves between P16 and 3 weeks of age, when it becomes stable through adolescence. In haploinsufficient mice, there are frequency-dependent loss of sensitivity and subsequent recovery of thresholds between P16 and adulthood. RNA analysis demonstrates that α-Atp2b2 transcript levels increase in both wild-type and heterozygous cochleae between P16 and 5 weeks. The increases reported for the α-Atp2b2 transcript type during this stage in development support the requisite usage of this transcript for mature auditory transduction. PMCA2 expression also increases in wild-type cochleae between P16 and 5 weeks suggesting that this critical auditory protein may be involved in normal maturation of auditory sensitivity after the onset of hearing. We also characterize expression levels of two long noncoding RNA genes, Gm15082 (lnc82) and Gm15083 (lnc83), which are transcribed on the opposite strand in the 5' region of Atp2b2 and propose that the lnc83 transcript may be involved in regulating α-Atp2b2 expression.

The physics of hearing: fluid mechanics and the active process of the inner ear

Most sounds of interest consist of complex, time-dependent admixtures of tones of diverse frequencies and variable amplitudes. To detect and process these signals, the ear employs a highly nonlinear, adaptive, real-time spectral analyzer: the cochlea. Sound excites vibration of the eardrum and the three miniscule bones of the middle ear, the last of which acts as a piston to initiate oscillatory pressure changes within the liquid-filled chambers of the cochlea. The basilar membrane, an elastic band spiraling along the cochlea between two of these chambers, responds to these pressures by conducting a largely independent traveling wave for each frequency component of the input. Because the basilar membrane is graded in mass and stiffness along its length, however, each traveling wave grows in magnitude and decreases in wavelength until it peaks at a specific, frequency-dependent position: low frequencies propagate to the cochlear apex, whereas high frequencies culminate at the base. The oscillations of the basilar membrane deflect hair bundles, the mechanically sensitive organelles of the ear's sensory receptors, the hair cells. As mechanically sensitive ion channels open and close, each hair cell responds with an electrical signal that is chemically transmitted to an afferent nerve fiber and thence into the brain. In addition to transducing mechanical inputs, hair cells amplify them by two means. Channel gating endows a hair bundle with negative stiffness, an instability that interacts with the motor protein myosin-1c to produce a mechanical amplifier and oscillator. Acting through the piezoelectric membrane protein prestin, electrical responses also cause outer hair cells to elongate and shorten, thus pumping energy into the basilar membrane's movements. The two forms of motility constitute an active process that amplifies mechanical inputs, sharpens frequency discrimination, and confers a compressive nonlinearity on responsiveness. These features arise because the active process operates near a Hopf bifurcation, the generic properties of which explain several key features of hearing. Moreover, when the gain of the active process rises sufficiently in ultraquiet circumstances, the system traverses the bifurcation and even a normal ear actually emits sound. The remarkable properties of hearing thus stem from the propagation of traveling waves on a nonlinear and excitable medium.

Optical stimulation of zebrafish hair cells expressing channelrhodopsin-2

Vertebrate hair cells are responsible for the high fidelity encoding of mechanical stimuli into trains of action potentials (spikes) in afferent neurons. Here, we generated a transgenic zebrafish line expressing Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) under the control of the hair-cell specific myo6b promoter, in order to examine the role of the mechanoelectrical transduction (MET) channel in sensory encoding in afferent neurons. We performed in vivo recordings from afferent neurons of the zebrafish lateral line while activating hair cells with either mechanical stimuli from a waterjet or optical stimuli from flashes of ∼470-nm light. Comparison of the patterns of encoded spikes during 100-ms stimuli revealed no difference in mean first spike latency between the two modes of activation. However, there was a significant increase in the variability of first spike latency during optical stimulation as well as an increase in the mean number of spikes per stimulus. Next, we compared encoding of spikes during hair-cell stimulation at 10, 20, and 40-Hz. Consistent with the increased variability of first spike latency, we saw a significant decrease in the vector strength of phase-locked spiking during optical stimulation. These in vivo results support a physiological role for the MET channel in the high fidelity of first spike latency seen during encoding of mechanical sensory stimuli. Finally, we examined whether remote activation of hair cells via ChR2 activation was sufficient to elicit escape responses in free-swimming larvae. In transgenic larvae, 100-ms flashes of ∼470-nm light resulted in escape responses that occurred concomitantly with field recordings indicating Mauthner cell activity. Altogether, the myo6b:ChR2 transgenic line provides a platform to investigate hair-cell function and sensory encoding, hair-cell sensory input to the Mauthner cell, and the ability to remotely evoke behavior in free-swimming zebrafish.

Amplitude death of coupled hair bundles with stochastic channel noise

Hair cells conduct auditory transduction in vertebrates. In lower vertebrates such as frogs and turtles, due to the active mechanism in hair cells, hair bundles (stereocilia) can be spontaneously oscillating or quiescent. Recently an amplitude death phenomenon has been proposed [K.-H. Ahn, J. R. Soc. Interface, 10, 20130525 (2013)] as a mechanism for auditory transduction in frog hair-cell bundles, where sudden cessation of the oscillations arises due to the coupling between nonidentical hair bundles. The gating of the ion channel is intrinsically stochastic due to the stochastic nature of the configuration change of the channel. The strength of the noise due to the channel gating can be comparable to the thermal Brownian noise of hair bundles. Thus, we perform stochastic simulations of the elastically coupled hair bundles. In spite of stray noisy fluctuations due to its stochastic dynamics, our simulation shows the transition from collective oscillation to amplitude death as interbundle coupling strength increases. In its stochastic dynamics, the formation of the amplitude death state of coupled hair bundles can be seen as a sudden suppression of the displacement fluctuation of the hair bundles as the coupling strength increases. The enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio through the amplitude death phenomenon is clearly seen in the stochastic dynamics. Our numerical results demonstrate that the multiple number of transduction channels per hair bundle is an important factor to the amplitude death phenomenon, because the phenomenon may disappear for a small number of transduction channels due to strong gating noise.

TMC function in hair cell transduction

Transmembrane channel-like (TMC) proteins 1 and 2 are necessary for hair cell mechanotransduction but their precise function is controversial. A growing body of evidence supports a direct role for TMC1 and TMC2 as components of the transduction complex. However, a number of important questions remain and alternate hypotheses have been proposed. Here we present an historical overview of the identification and cloning of Tmc genes, a discussion of mutations in TMC1 that cause deafness in mice and humans and a brief review of other members of the Tmc gene superfamily. We also examine expression of Tmc mRNAs and localization of the protein products. The review focuses on potential functions of TMC proteins and the evidence from Beethoven mice that suggests a direct role for TMC1 in hair cell mechanotransduction. Data that support alternate interpretations are also considered. The article concludes with a discussion of outstanding questions and future directions for TMC research. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled <Annual Reviews 2014>.

TRPs in hearing

Hearing is a particularly sensitive form of mechanosensation that relies on dedicated ion channels transducing sound-induced vibrations that hardly exceed Brownian motion. Attempts to molecularly identify these auditory transduction channels have put the focus on TRPs in ears. In Drosophila, hearing has been shown to involve TRPA, TRPC, TRPN, and TRPV subfamily members, with candidate auditory transduction channels including NOMPC (=TRPN1) and the TRPVs Nan and Iav. In vertebrates, TRPs are unlikely to form auditory transduction channels, yet most TRPs are expressed in inner ear tissues, and mutations in TRPN1, TRPVA1, TRPML3, TRPV4, and TRPC3/TRPC6 have been implicated in inner ear function. Starting with a brief introduction of fly and vertebrate auditory anatomies and transduction mechanisms, this review summarizes our current understanding of the auditory roles of TRPs.

Gentamicin concentration gradients in scala tympani perilymph following systemic applications

It has been shown in prior studies that round window membrane (RWM) application of gentamicin produced a robust basal-apical concentration gradient in the perilymph of scala tympani (ST) with peak concentrations in the basal turn of ST. These gradients potentially contribute to the clinical efficacy and safety of intratympanic gentamicin applications for the treatment of Ménière's disease. The present study aimed to establish the distribution of gentamicin along ST perilymph after systemic applications. Gentamicin sulfate was applied intravenously in the amounts of 100, 300 and 600 mg/kg body weight (BW) over a period of 3 h or as a 300 mg/kg BW subcutaneous bolus injection. At 3 and 5 h after the start of the application perilymph of ST was aspirated from the cochlea apex of the right and left cochlea, respectively, and 10 sequential 1-µl perilymph samples from the apex of each cochlea were quantitatively analyzed using a fluorescence polarization immunoassay. In contrast to local RWM delivery, systemic application of gentamicin resulted in the highest perilymph levels in the apex of the cochlea with decreasing concentrations towards the basal regions of ST. The absolute gentamicin concentrations increased with the amount of drug applied and time before sampling. While it is likely that the basal-apical gradient measured after local drug applications to the round window niche is the result of the direct uptake of drugs into the perilymph of the ST, distribution by diffusion and a very low perilymph flow towards the cochlear apex, computer simulations suggested that the apical-basal gradient observed with these systemic applications can be explained by higher entry rates of gentamicin in the apex compared to the basal turns of the cochlea. It is also possible that gentamicin enters perilymph indirectly from the blood via the endolymph. In this case the faster kinetics in apical turns could be due to the smaller cross-sectional area of ST relative to endolymph in the apical turns.

The role of transmembrane channel-like proteins in the operation of hair cell mechanotransducer channels

Sound stimuli elicit movement of the stereocilia that make up the hair bundle of cochlear hair cells, putting tension on the tip links connecting the stereocilia and thereby opening mechanotransducer (MT) channels. Tmc1 and Tmc2, two members of the transmembrane channel–like family, are necessary for mechanotransduction. To assess their precise role, we recorded MT currents elicited by hair bundle deflections in mice with null mutations of Tmc1, Tmc2, or both. During the first postnatal week, we observed a normal MT current in hair cells lacking Tmc1 or Tmc2; however, in the absence of both isoforms, we recorded a large MT current that was phase-shifted 180°, being evoked by displacements of the hair bundle away from its tallest edge rather than toward it as in wild-type hair cells. The anomalous MT current in hair cells lacking Tmc1 and Tmc2 was blocked by FM1-43, dihydrostreptomycin, and extracellular Ca²⁺ at concentrations similar to those that blocked wild type. MT channels in the double knockouts carried Ca²⁺ with a lower permeability than wild-type or single mutants. The MT current in double knockouts persisted during exposure to submicromolar Ca²⁺, even though this treatment destroyed the tip links. We conclude that the Tmc isoforms do not themselves constitute the MT channel but are essential for targeting and interaction with the tip link. Changes in the MT conductance and Ca²⁺ permeability observed in the absence of Tmc1 mutants may stem from loss of interaction with protein partners in the transduction complex.

TMC1 and TMC2 are components of the mechanotransduction channel in hair cells of the mammalian inner ear

Sensory transduction in auditory and vestibular hair cells requires expression of transmembrane channel-like (Tmc) 1 and 2 genes, but the function of these genes is unknown. To investigate the hypothesis that TMC1 and TMC2 proteins are components of the mechanosensitive ion channels that convert mechanical information into electrical signals, we recorded whole-cell and single-channel currents from mouse hair cells that expressed Tmc1, Tmc2, or mutant Tmc1. Cells that expressed Tmc2 had high calcium permeability and large single-channel currents, while cells with mutant Tmc1 had reduced calcium permeability and reduced single-channel currents. Cells that expressed Tmc1 and Tmc2 had a broad range of single-channel currents, suggesting multiple heteromeric assemblies of TMC subunits. The data demonstrate TMC1 and TMC2 are components of hair cell transduction channels and contribute to permeation properties. Gradients in TMC channel composition may also contribute to variation in sensory transduction along the tonotopic axis of the mammalian cochlea.

Developmental changes in the cochlear hair cell mechanotransducer channel and their regulation by transmembrane channel-like proteins

Vibration of the stereociliary bundles activates calcium-permeable mechanotransducer (MT) channels to initiate sound detection in cochlear hair cells. Different regions of the cochlea respond preferentially to different acoustic frequencies, with variation in the unitary conductance of the MT channels contributing to this tonotopic organization. Although the molecular identity of the MT channel remains uncertain, two members of the transmembrane channel–like family, Tmc1 and Tmc2, are crucial to hair cell mechanotransduction. We measured MT channel current amplitude and Ca²⁺ permeability along the cochlea’s longitudinal (tonotopic) axis during postnatal development of wild-type mice and mice lacking Tmc1 (Tmc1−/−) or Tmc2 (Tmc2−/−). In wild-type mice older than postnatal day (P) 4, MT current amplitude increased ∼1.5-fold from cochlear apex to base in outer hair cells (OHCs) but showed little change in inner hair cells (IHCs), a pattern apparent in mutant mice during the first postnatal week. After P7, the OHC MT current in Tmc1−/− (dn) mice declined to zero, consistent with their deafness phenotype. In wild-type mice before P6, the relative Ca²⁺ permeability, P_Ca, of the OHC MT channel decreased from cochlear apex to base. This gradient in P_Ca was not apparent in IHCs and disappeared after P7 in OHCs. In Tmc1−/− mice, P_Ca in basal OHCs was larger than that in wild-type mice (to equal that of apical OHCs), whereas in Tmc2−/−, P_Ca in apical and basal OHCs and IHCs was decreased compared with that in wild-type mice. We postulate that differences in Ca²⁺ permeability reflect different subunit compositions of the MT channel determined by expression of Tmc1 and Tmc2, with the latter conferring higher P_Ca in IHCs and immature apical OHCs. Changes in P_Ca with maturation are consistent with a developmental decrease in abundance of Tmc2 in OHCs but not in IHCs.

A molecular level prototype for mechanoelectrical transducer in mammalian hair cells

The mechanoelectrical transducer (MET) is a crucial component of mammalian auditory system. The gating mechanism of the MET channel remains a puzzling issue, though there are many speculations, due to the lack of essential molecular building blocks. To understand the working principle of mammalian MET, we propose a molecular level prototype which constitutes a charged blocker, a realistic ion channel and its surrounding membrane. To validate the proposed prototype, we make use of a well-established ion channel theory, the Poisson-Nernst-Planck equations, for three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulations. A wide variety of model parameters, including bulk ion concentration, applied external voltage, blocker charge and blocker displacement, are explored to understand the basic function of the proposed MET prototype. We show that our prototype prediction of channel open probability in response to blocker relative displacement is in remarkable accordance with experimental observation of rat cochlea outer hair cells. Our results appear to suggest that tip links which connect hair bundles gate MET channels.

TMHS is an integral component of the mechanotransduction machinery of cochlear hair cells

Hair cells are mechanosensors for the perception of sound, acceleration, and fluid motion. Mechanotransduction channels in hair cells are gated by tip links, which connect the stereocilia of a hair cell in the direction of their mechanical sensitivity. The molecular constituents of the mechanotransduction channels of hair cells are not known. Here, we show that mechanotransduction is impaired in mice lacking the tetraspan TMHS. TMHS binds to the tip-link component PCDH15 and regulates tip-link assembly, a process that is disrupted by deafness-causing Tmhs mutations. TMHS also regulates transducer channel conductance and is required for fast channel adaptation. TMHS therefore resembles other ion channel regulatory subunits such as the transmembrane alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) receptor regulatory proteins (TARPs) of AMPA receptors that facilitate channel transport and regulate the properties of pore-forming channel subunits. We conclude that TMHS is an integral component of the hair cell's mechanotransduction machinery that functionally couples PCDH15 to the transduction channel.

Integrity and regeneration of mechanotransduction machinery regulate aminoglycoside entry and sensory cell death

Sound perception requires functional hair cell mechanotransduction (MET) machinery, including the MET channels and tip-link proteins. Prior work showed that uptake of ototoxic aminoglycosides (AG) into hair cells requires functional MET channels. In this study, we examined whether tip-link proteins, including Cadherin 23 (Cdh23), regulate AG entry into hair cells. Using time-lapse microscopy on cochlear explants, we found rapid uptake of gentamicin-conjugated Texas Red (GTTR) into hair cells from three-day-old Cdh23^+/+ and Cdh23^v2J/+ mice, but failed to detect GTTR uptake in Cdh23^v2J/v2J hair cells. Pre-treatment of wildtype cochleae with the calcium chelator 1,2-bis(o-aminophenoxy) ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (BAPTA) to disrupt tip-links also effectively reduced GTTR uptake into hair cells. Both Cdh23^v2J/v2J and BAPTA-treated hair cells were protected from degeneration caused by gentamicin. Six hours after BAPTA treatment, GTTR uptake remained reduced in comparison to controls; by 24 hours, drug uptake was comparable between untreated and BAPTA-treated hair cells, which again became susceptible to cell death induced by gentamicin. Together, these results provide genetic and pharmacologic evidence that tip-links are required for AG uptake and toxicity in hair cells. Because tip-links can spontaneously regenerate, their temporary breakage offers a limited time window when hair cells are protected from AG toxicity.

Ototoxicity in preterm infants: effects of genetics, aminoglycosides, and loud environmental noise

Majority of hearing-loss cases with extremely preterm infants have no known etiology. There is a growing concern that the administration of aminoglycoside treatment in the noisy environment of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) may lead to hair-cell damage and subsequent auditory impairments. In addition, several mitochondrial DNA mutations are known to have been associated with aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss. This review provides a systematic analysis of the research in this area and elucidates the multifactorial mechanisms behind how mitochondrial DNA mutations, aminoglycosides and loud noise can potentiate ototoxicity in extremely preterm neonates. Recommended steps to minimize the risk of ototoxicity and improve clinical care for NICU infants are discussed.

A mechanical model of stereocilia that demonstrates a shift in the high-sensitivity region due to the interplay of a negative stiffness and an adaptation mechanism

Stereocilia are the basic sensory units of nature's inertial sensors and are highly sensitive over broad dynamic ranges, which is a major challenge in the design of conventional engineering sensors. The high sensitivity that is maintained by stereocilia was hypothesized to exist due to a combination of adaptation and negative stiffness mechanisms, which shift the region of highest sensitivity toward the active operation range of the stereocilia bundle. To examine the adaptation hypothesis in terms of its potential applicability to future applications regarding the design of inertial sensors, we developed a mechanical mimicry of the interplay between negative stiffness and the adaptation of the stereocilia that produces spontaneous oscillation of the hair bundle. The mechanical model consists of an inverted pendulum and a fixed T-bar that mimic the interaction of two adjacent stereocilia. To focus on the interaction of one gating spring and the corresponding adaptation motor without the effect of coupling from the other gating springs attached to the neighboring stereocilia, we fixed one bar that contains the adaptation motor. To emulate the negative resistance of the tip-link due to the transient stiffness softening by the gating ion channel, a magnet pair was attached to the top of the inverted pendulum and the fixed T-bar. Readjustment of the tip-link tension by the 'slipping down and climbing up' motion of the adaptation molecular motors was demonstrated by the side-to-side movement of the magnet by a step motor. The negative stiffness region was observed near the equilibrium position and shifted with the activation of the adaptation motor. The temporal demonstration of the stiffness shift was measured as a spontaneous oscillation. The results showed that the interplay between the negative stiffness and the adaptation mechanism was mechanically produced by the combination of a repulsive force and its continuous readjustment and is better understood through a parameter study of a biomimetic mechanical system.

Sensory receptor diversity establishes a peripheral population code for stimulus duration at low intensities

Peripheral filtering is a fundamental mechanism for establishing frequency tuning in sensory systems. By contrast, detection of temporal features, such as duration, is generally thought to result from temporal coding in the periphery, followed by an analysis of peripheral response times within the central nervous system. We investigated how peripheral filtering properties affect the coding of stimulus duration in the electrosensory system of mormyrid fishes using behavioral and electrophysiological measures of duration tuning. We recorded from individual knollenorgans, the electrosensory receptors that mediate communication, and found correlated variation in frequency tuning and duration tuning, as predicted by a simple circuit model. In response to relatively high intensity stimuli, knollenorgans responded reliably with fixed latency spikes, consistent with a temporal code for stimulus duration. At near-threshold intensities, however, both the reliability and the temporal precision of responses decreased. Evoked potential recordings from the midbrain, as well as behavioral responses to electrosensory stimulation, revealed changes in sensitivity across the range of durations associated with the greatest variability in receptor sensitivity. Further, this range overlapped with the natural range of variation in species-specific communication signals, suggesting that peripheral duration tuning affects the coding of behaviorally relevant stimuli. We measured knollenorgan, midbrain and behavioral responses to natural communication signals and found that each of them were duration dependent. We conclude that at relatively low intensities for which temporal coding is ineffective, diversity among sensory receptors establishes a population code, in which duration is reflected in the population of responding knollenorgans.

Spontaneous excitation patterns computed for axons with injury-like impairments of sodium channels and Na/K pumps

In injured neurons, “leaky” voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav) underlie dysfunctional excitability that ranges from spontaneous subthreshold oscillations (STO), to ectopic (sometimes paroxysmal) excitation, to depolarizing block. In recombinant systems, mechanical injury to Nav1.6-rich membranes causes cytoplasmic Na⁺-loading and “Nav-CLS”, i.e., coupled left-(hyperpolarizing)-shift of Nav activation and availability. Metabolic injury of hippocampal neurons (epileptic discharge) results in comparable impairment: left-shifted activation and availability and hence left-shifted I_Na-window. A recent computation study revealed that CLS-based I_Na-window left-shift dissipates ion gradients and impairs excitability. Here, via dynamical analyses, we focus on sustained excitability patterns in mildly damaged nodes, in particular with more realistic Gaussian-distributed Nav-CLS to mimic “smeared” injury intensity. Since our interest is axons that might survive injury, pumps (sine qua non for live axons) are included. In some simulations, pump efficacy and system volumes are varied. Impacts of current noise inputs are also characterized. The diverse modes of spontaneous rhythmic activity evident in these scenarios are studied using bifurcation analysis. For “mild CLS injury”, a prominent feature is slow pump/leak-mediated E_Ion oscillations. These slow oscillations yield dynamic firing thresholds that underlie complex voltage STO and bursting behaviors. Thus, Nav-CLS, a biophysically justified mode of injury, in parallel with functioning pumps, robustly engenders an emergent slow process that triggers a plethora of pathological excitability patterns. This minimalist “device” could have physiological analogs. At first nodes of Ranvier and at nociceptors, e.g., localized lipid-tuning that modulated Nav midpoints could produce Nav-CLS, as could co-expression of appropriately differing Nav isoforms.

Nerve cells damaged by trauma, stroke, epilepsy, inflammatory conditions etc, have chronically leaky sodium channels that eventually kill. The usual job of sodium channels is to make brief voltage signals –action potentials– for long distance propagation. After sodium channels open to generate action potentials, sodium pumps work harder to re-establish the intracellular/extracellular sodium imbalance that is, literally, the neuron's battery for firing action potentials. Wherever tissue damage renders membranes overly fluid, we hypothesize, sodium channels become chronically leaky. Our experimental findings justify this. In fluidized membranes, sodium channel voltage sensors respond too easily, letting channels spend too much time open. Channels leak, pumps respond. By mathematical modeling, we show that in damaged channel-rich membranes the continual pump/leak counterplay would trigger the kinds of bizarre intermittent action potential bursts typical of injured neurons. Arising ectopically from injury regions, such neuropathic firing is unrelated to events in the external world. Drugs that can silence these deleterious electrical barrages without blocking healthy action potentials are needed. If fluidized membranes house the problematic leaky sodium channels, then drug side effects could be diminished by using drugs that accumulate most avidly into fluidized membranes, and that bind their targets with highest affinity there.

Specialization for underwater hearing by the tympanic middle ear of the turtle, Trachemys scripta elegans

Turtles, like other amphibious animals, face a trade-off between terrestrial and aquatic hearing. We used laser vibrometry and auditory brainstem responses to measure their sensitivity to vibration stimuli and to airborne versus underwater sound. Turtles are most sensitive to sound underwater, and their sensitivity depends on the large middle ear, which has a compliant tympanic disc attached to the columella. Behind the disc, the middle ear is a large air-filled cavity with a volume of approximately 0.5 ml and a resonance frequency of approximately 500 Hz underwater. Laser vibrometry measurements underwater showed peak vibrations at 500-600 Hz with a maximum of 300 µm s(-1) Pa(-1), approximately 100 times more than the surrounding water. In air, the auditory brainstem response audiogram showed a best sensitivity to sound of 300-500 Hz. Audiograms before and after removing the skin covering reveal that the cartilaginous tympanic disc shows unchanged sensitivity, indicating that the tympanic disc, and not the overlying skin, is the key sound receiver. If air and water thresholds are compared in terms of sound intensity, thresholds in water are approximately 20-30 dB lower than in air. Therefore, this tympanic ear is specialized for underwater hearing, most probably because sound-induced pulsations of the air in the middle ear cavity drive the tympanic disc.

Stereocilia membrane deformation: implications for the gating spring and mechanotransduction channel

In hair cells, although mechanotransduction channels have been localized to tips of shorter stereocilia of the mechanically sensitive hair bundle, little is known about how force is transmitted to the channel. Here, we use a biophysical model of the membrane-channel complex to analyze the nature of the gating spring compliance and channel arrangement. We use a triangulated surface model and Monte Carlo simulation to compute the deformation of the membrane under the action of tip link force. We show that depending on the gating spring stiffness, the compliant component of the gating spring arises from either the membrane alone or a combination of the membrane and a tether that connects the channel to the actin cytoskeleton. If a bundle is characterized by relatively soft gating springs, such as those of the bullfrog sacculus, the need for membrane reinforcement by channel tethering then depends on membrane parameters. With stiffer gating springs, such as those from rat outer hair cells, the channel must be tethered for all biophysically realistic parameters of the membrane. We compute the membrane forces (resultants), which depend on membrane tension, bending modulus, and curvature, and show that they can determine the fate of the channel.

Genome-wide linkage analyses identify Hfhl1 and Hfhl3 with frequency-specific effects on the hearing spectrum of NIH Swiss mice

Background

The mammalian cochlea receives and analyzes sound at specific places along the cochlea coil, commonly referred to as the tonotopic map. Although much is known about the cell-level molecular defects responsible for severe hearing loss, the genetics responsible for less severe and frequency-specific hearing loss remains unclear. We recently identified quantitative trait loci (QTLs) Hfhl1 and Hfhl2 that affect high-frequency hearing loss in NIH Swiss mice. Here we used 2f1-f2 distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) measurements to refine the hearing loss phenotype. We crossed the high frequency hearing loss (HFHL) line of NIH Swiss mice to three different inbred strains and performed linkage analysis on the DPOAE data obtained from the second-generation populations.

Results

We identified a QTL of moderate effect on chromosome 7 that affected 2f1-f2 emissions intensities (Hfhl1), confirming the results of our previous study that used auditory brainstem response (ABR) thresholds to identify QTLs affecting HFHL. We also identified a novel significant QTL on chromosome 9 (Hfhl3) with moderate effects on 2f1-f2 emissions intensities. By partitioning the DPOAE data into frequency subsets, we determined that Hfhl1 and Hfhl3 affect hearing primarily at frequencies above 24 kHz and 35 kHz, respectively. Furthermore, we uncovered additional QTLs with small effects on isolated portions of the DPOAE spectrum.

Conclusions

This study identifies QTLs with effects that are isolated to limited portions of the frequency map. Our results support the hypothesis that frequency-specific hearing loss results from variation in gene activity along the cochlear partition and suggest a strategy for creating a map of cochlear genes that influence differences in hearing sensitivity and/or vulnerability in restricted portions of the cochlea.

Phylogenetic differences in calcium permeability of the auditory hair cell cholinergic nicotinic receptor

The α9 and α10 cholinergic nicotinic receptor subunits assemble to form the receptor that mediates efferent inhibition of hair cell function within the auditory sensory organ, a mechanism thought to modulate the dynamic range of hearing. In contrast to all nicotinic receptors, which serve excitatory neurotransmission, the activation of α9α10 produces hyperpolarization of hair cells. An evolutionary analysis has shown that the α10 subunit exhibits signatures of positive selection only along the mammalian lineage, strongly suggesting the acquisition of a unique function. To establish whether mammalian α9α10 receptors have acquired distinct functional properties as a consequence of this evolutionary pressure, we compared the properties of rat and chicken recombinant and native α9α10 receptors. Our main finding in the present work is that, in contrast to the high (pCa(2+)/pMonovalents ∼10) Ca(2+) permeability reported for rat α9α10 receptors, recombinant and native chicken α9α10 receptors have a much lower permeability (∼2) to this cation, comparable to that of neuronal α4β2 receptors. Moreover, we show that, in contrast to α10, α7 as well as α4 and β2 nicotinic subunits are under purifying selection in vertebrates, consistent with the conserved Ca(2+) permeability reported across species. These results have important consequences for the activation of signaling cascades that lead to hyperpolarization of hair cells after α9α10 gating at the cholinergic-hair cell synapse. In addition, they suggest that high Ca(2+) permeability of the α9α10 cholinergic nicotinic receptor might have evolved together with other features that have given the mammalian ear an expanded high-frequency sensitivity.

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

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 Ca(2+) binding within the pore, occluding permeation. Driving force for permeation at hyperpolarized potentials is increased because Ca(2+) 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 Ca(2+) binding may underlie tonotopic and Ca(2+)-dependent variations in channel conductance. This Ca(2+)-dependent rectification provides targets for identifying the molecular components of the MET channel.

Sensing sound: molecules that orchestrate mechanotransduction by hair cells

Animals use acoustic signals to communicate and to obtain information about their environment. The processing of acoustic signals is initiated at auditory sense organs, where mechanosensory hair cells convert sound-induced vibrations into electrical signals. Although the biophysical principles underlying the mechanotransduction process in hair cells have been characterized in much detail over the past 30 years, the molecular building-blocks of the mechanotransduction machinery have proved to be difficult to determine. We review here recent studies that have both identified some of these molecules and established the mechanisms by which they regulate the activity of the still-elusive mechanotransduction channel.

Mechanotransduction in mouse inner ear hair cells requires transmembrane channel-like genes

Inner ear hair cells convert the mechanical stimuli of sound, gravity, and head movement into electrical signals. This mechanotransduction process is initiated by opening of cation channels near the tips of hair cell stereocilia. Since the identity of these ion channels is unknown, and mutations in the gene encoding transmembrane channel-like 1 (TMC1) cause hearing loss without vestibular dysfunction in both mice and humans, we investigated the contribution of Tmc1 and the closely related Tmc2 to mechanotransduction in mice. We found that Tmc1 and Tmc2 were expressed in mouse vestibular and cochlear hair cells and that GFP-tagged TMC proteins localized near stereocilia tips. Tmc2 expression was transient in early postnatal mouse cochlear hair cells but persisted in vestibular hair cells. While mice with a targeted deletion of Tmc1 (Tmc1(Δ) mice) were deaf and those with a deletion of Tmc2 (Tmc2(Δ) mice) were phenotypically normal, Tmc1(Δ)Tmc2(Δ) mice had profound vestibular dysfunction, deafness, and structurally normal hair cells that lacked all mechanotransduction activity. Expression of either exogenous TMC1 or TMC2 rescued mechanotransduction in Tmc1(Δ)Tmc2(Δ) mutant hair cells. Our results indicate that TMC1 and TMC2 are necessary for hair cell mechanotransduction and may be integral components of the mechanotransduction complex. Our data also suggest that persistent TMC2 expression in vestibular hair cells may preserve vestibular function in humans with hearing loss caused by TMC1 mutations.

Integrating the biophysical and molecular mechanisms of auditory hair cell mechanotransduction

Mechanosensation is a primitive and somewhat ubiquitous sense. At the inner ear, sensory hair cells are refined to enhance sensitivity, dynamic range and frequency selectivity. Thirty years ago, mechanisms of mechanotransduction and adaptation were well accounted for by simple mechanical models that incorporated physiological and morphological properties of hair cells. Molecular and genetic tools, coupled with new optical techniques, are now identifying and localizing specific components of the mechanotransduction machinery. These new findings challenge long-standing theories, and require modification of old and development of new models. Future advances require the integration of molecular and physiological data to causally test these new hypotheses.

Mechanisms of aminoglycoside ototoxicity and targets of hair cell protection

Aminoglycosides are commonly prescribed antibiotics with deleterious side effects to the inner ear. Due to their popular application as a result of their potent antimicrobial activities, many efforts have been undertaken to prevent aminoglycoside ototoxicity. Over the years, understanding of the antimicrobial as well as ototoxic mechanisms of aminoglycosides has increased. These mechanisms are reviewed in regard to established and potential future targets of hair cell protection.

Functional hair cell mechanotransducer channels are required for aminoglycoside ototoxicity

Aminoglycosides (AG) are commonly prescribed antibiotics with potent bactericidal activities. One main side effect is permanent sensorineural hearing loss, induced by selective inner ear sensory hair cell death. Much work has focused on AG's initiating cell death processes, however, fewer studies exist defining mechanisms of AG uptake by hair cells. The current study investigated two proposed mechanisms of AG transport in mammalian hair cells: mechanotransducer (MET) channels and endocytosis. To study these two mechanisms, rat cochlear explants were cultured as whole organs in gentamicin-containing media. Two-photon imaging of Texas Red conjugated gentamicin (GTTR) uptake into live hair cells was rapid and selective. Hypocalcemia, which increases the open probability of MET channels, increased AG entry into hair cells. Three blockers of MET channels (curare, quinine, and amiloride) significantly reduced GTTR uptake, whereas the endocytosis inhibitor concanavalin A did not. Dynosore quenched the fluorescence of GTTR and could not be tested. Pharmacologic blockade of MET channels with curare or quinine, but not concanavalin A or dynosore, prevented hair cell loss when challenged with gentamicin for up to 96 hours. Taken together, data indicate that the patency of MET channels mediated AG entry into hair cells and its toxicity. Results suggest that limiting permeation of AGs through MET channel or preventing their entry into endolymph are potential therapeutic targets for preventing hair cell death and hearing loss.

Ca2+ homeostasis defects and hereditary hearing loss

Ca(2+) acts as a fundamental signal transduction element in inner ear, delivering information about sound, acceleration and gravity through a small number of mechanotransduction channels in the hair cell stereocilia and voltage activated Ca(2+) channels at the ribbon synapse, where it drives neurotransmission. The mechanotransduction process relies on the endocochlear potential, an electrical potential difference between endolymph and perilymph, the two fluids bathing respectively the apical and basolateral membrane of the cells in the organ of Corti. In mouse models, deafness and lack or reduction of the endocochlear potential correlate with ablation of connexin (Cx) 26 or 30. These Cxs form heteromeric channels assembled in a network of gap junction plaques connecting the supporting and epithelial cells of the organ of Corti presumably for K(+) recycle and transfer of key metabolites, for example, the Ca(2+) -mobilizing second messenger IP(3) . Ca(2+) signaling in these cells could play a crucial role in regulating Cx expression and function. Another district where Ca(2+) signaling alterations link to hearing loss is hair cell apex, where ablation or missense mutations of the PMCA2 Ca(2+) -pump of the stereocilia cause deafness and loss of balance. If less Ca(2+) is exported from the stereocilia, as in the PMCA2 mouse mutants, Ca(2+) concentration in endolymph is expected to fall causing an alteration of the mechanotransduction process. This may provide a clue as to why, in some cases, PMCA2 mutations potentiated the deafness phenotype induced by coexisting mutations of cadherin-23 (Usher syndrome type 1D), a single pass membrane Ca(2+) binding protein that is abundantly expressed in the stereocilia.

A search for factors specifying tonotopy implicates DNER in hair-cell development in the chick's cochlea

The accurate perception of sound frequency by vertebrates relies upon the tuning of hair cells, which are arranged along auditory organs according to frequency. This arrangement, which is termed a tonotopic gradient, results from the coordination of many cellular and extracellular features. Seeking the mechanisms that orchestrate those features and govern the tonotopic gradient, we used expression microarrays to identify genes differentially expressed between the high- and low-frequency cochlear regions of the chick (Gallus gallus). Of the three signaling systems that were represented extensively in the results, we focused on the notch pathway and particularly on DNER, a putative notch ligand, and PTPζ, a receptor phosphatase that controls DNER trafficking. Immunohistochemistry confirmed that both proteins are expressed more strongly in hair cells at the cochlear apex than in those at the base. At the apical surface of each hair cell, the proteins display polarized, mutually exclusive localization patterns. Using morpholinos to decrease the expression of DNER or PTPζ as well as a retroviral vector to overexpress DNER, we observed disturbances of hair-bundle morphology and orientation. Our results suggest a role for DNER and PTPζ in hair-cell development and possibly in the specification of tonotopy.

Gene expression gradients along the tonotopic axis of the chicken auditory epithelium

There are known differences in the properties of hair cells along the tonotopic axis of the avian auditory epithelium, the basilar papilla (BP). To determine the genetic basis of these differences, we compared gene expression between the high- (HF), middle-, and low-frequency (LF) thirds of 0-day-old chick auditory epithelia. RNA amplified from each sample was hybridized to whole-genome chicken arrays and GeneSpring software was used to identify differentially expressed genes. Two thousand six hundred sixty-three genes were found to be differentially expressed between the HF and LF segments, using a fold-change cutoff of 2 and a p value of 0.05. Many ion channel genes were differentially expressed between the HF and LF regions of the BP, an expression pattern that was previously established for some but not all of these genes. Quantitative PCR was used to verify tonotopic expression of 15 genes, including KCNMA1 (Slo) and its alternatively spliced STREX exon. Gene set enrichment analyses (GSEA) were performed on the microarray data and revealed many microRNA gene sets significantly enriched in the HF relative to the LF end, suggesting a tonotopic activity gradient. GSEA also suggested differential activity of the kinases protein kinase C and protein kinase A at the HF and LF ends, an interesting corollary to the observation that there is tonotopic expression of the STREX exon that confers on Slo sensitivity to the activity of kinases. Taken together, these results suggest mechanisms of induction and maintenance of tonotopicity and enhance our understanding of the complex nature of proximal-distal gene expression gradients in the chicken BP.

Structural and functional effects of acoustic exposure in goldfish: evidence for tonotopy in the teleost saccule

BACKGROUND

Mammalian and avian auditory hair cells display tonotopic mapping of frequency along the length of the cochlea and basilar papilla. It is not known whether the auditory hair cells of fishes possess a similar tonotopic organization in the saccule, which is thought to be the primary auditory receptor in teleosts. To investigate this question, we determined the location of hair cell damage in the saccules of goldfish (Carassius auratus) following exposure to specific frequencies. Subjects were divided into six groups of six fish each (five treatment groups plus control). The treatment groups were each exposed to one of five tones: 100, 400, 800, 2000, and 4000 Hz at 176 dB re 1 μPa root mean squared (RMS) for 48 hours. The saccules of each fish were dissected and labeled with phalloidin in order to visualize hair cell bundles. The hair cell bundles were counted at 19 specific locations in each saccule to determine the extent and location of hair cell damage. In addition to quantification of anatomical injury, hearing tests (using auditory evoked potentials) were performed on each fish immediately following sound exposure. Threshold shifts were calculated by subtracting control thresholds from post-sound exposure thresholds.

RESULTS

All sound-exposed fish exhibited significant hair cell and hearing loss following sound exposure. The location of hair cell loss varied along the length of the saccule in a graded manner with the frequency of sound exposure, with lower and higher frequencies damaging the more caudal and rostral regions of the saccule, respectively. Similarly, fish exposed to lower frequency tones exhibited greater threshold shifts at lower frequencies, while high-frequency tone exposure led to hearing loss at higher frequencies. In general, both hair cell and hearing loss declined as a function of increasing frequency of exposure tone, and there was a significant linear relationship between hair cell loss and hearing loss.

CONCLUSIONS

The pattern of hair cell loss as a function of exposure tone frequency and saccular rostral-caudal location is similar to the pattern of hearing loss as a function of exposure tone frequency and hearing threshold frequency. This data suggest that the frequency analysis ability of goldfish is at least partially driven by peripheral tonotopy in the saccule.

Complex primary afferents: What the distribution of electrophysiologically-relevant phenotypes within the spiral ganglion tells us about peripheral neural coding

Spiral ganglion neurons are the first neural element of the auditory system. They receive precise synaptic signals which represent features of sound stimuli encoded by hair cell receptors and they deliver a digital representation of this information to the central nervous system. It is well known that spiral ganglion neurons are selectively responsive to specific sound frequencies, and that numerous structural and physiological specializations in the inner ear increase the quality of this tuning, beyond what could be accomplished by the passive properties of the basilar membrane. Further, consistent with what we know about other sensory systems, it is becoming clear that the parallel divergent innervation pattern of type I spiral ganglion neurons has the potential to encode additional features of sound stimuli. To date, we understand the most about the sub-modalities of frequency and intensity coding in the peripheral auditory system. Work reviewed herein will address the issue of how intrinsic electrophysiological features of the neurons themselves have the potential to contribute to the precision of coding and transmitting information about these two parameters to higher auditory centers for further processing.

Development of tonotopy in the auditory periphery

Acoustic frequency analysis plays an essential role in sound perception, communication and behavior. The auditory systems of most vertebrates that perceive sounds in air are organized based on the separation of complex sounds into component frequencies. This process begins at the level of the auditory sensory epithelium where specific frequencies are distributed along the tonotopic axis of the mammalian cochlea or the avian/reptilian basilar papilla (BP). Mechanical and electrical mechanisms mediate this process, but the relative contribution of each mechanism differs between species. Developmentally, structural and physiological specializations related to the formation of a tonotopic axis form gradually over an extended period of time. While some aspects of tonotopy are evident at early stages of auditory development, mature frequency discrimination is typically not achieved until after the onset of hearing. Despite the importance of tonotopic organization, the factors that specify unique positional identities along the cochlea or basilar papilla are unknown. However, recent studies of developing systems, including the inner ear provide some clues regarding the signalling pathways that may be instructive for the formation of a tonotopic axis.

Using the cochlear microphonic as a tool to evaluate cochlear function in mouse models of hearing

The cochlear microphonic (CM) can be a useful analytical tool, but many investigators may not be fully familiar with its unique properties to interpret it accurately in mouse models of hearing. The purpose of this report is to develop a model for generation of the CM in wild-type (WT) and prestin knockout mice. Data and modeling results indicate that in the majority of cases, the CM is a passive response, and in the absence of outer hair cell (OHC) damage, mice lacking amplification are expected to generate WT levels of CM for inputs less than approximately 30 kHz. Hence, this cochlear potential is not a useful metric to estimate changes in amplifier gain. This modeling analysis may explain much of the paradoxical data in the literature. For example, various manipulations, including the application of salicylate and activation of the crossed olivocochlear bundle, reduce the compound action potential but increase or do not change the CM. Based on this current evaluation, CM measurements are consistent with early descriptions where this AC cochlear potential is dominated by basal OHCs, when recorded at the round window.

The novel PMCA2 pump mutation Tommy impairs cytosolic calcium clearance in hair cells and links to deafness in mice

The mechanotransduction process in hair cells in the inner ear is associated with the influx of calcium from the endolymph. Calcium is exported back to the endolymph via the splice variant w/a of the PMCA2 of the stereocilia membrane. To further investigate the role of the pump, we have identified and characterized a novel ENU-induced mouse mutation, Tommy, in the PMCA2 gene. The mutation causes a non-conservative E629K change in the second intracellular loop of the pump that harbors the active site. Tommy mice show profound hearing impairment from P18, with significant differences in hearing thresholds between wild type and heterozygotes. Expression of mutant PMCA2 in CHO cells shows calcium extrusion impairment; specifically, the long term, non-stimulated calcium extrusion activity of the pump is inhibited. Calcium extrusion was investigated directly in neonatal organotypic cultures of the utricle sensory epithelium in Tommy mice. Confocal imaging combined with flash photolysis of caged calcium showed impairment of calcium export in both Tommy heterozygotes and homozygotes. Immunofluorescence studies of the organ of Corti in homozygous Tommy mice showed a progressive base to apex degeneration of hair cells after P40. Our results on the Tommy mutation along with previously observed interactions between cadherin-23 and PMCA2 mutations in mouse and humans underline the importance of maintaining the appropriate calcium concentrations in the endolymph to control the rigidity of cadherin and ensure the function of interstereocilia links, including tip links, of the stereocilia bundle.

The interplay between active hair bundle motility and electromotility in the cochlea

The cochlear amplifier is a nonlinear active process providing the mammalian ear with its extraordinary sensitivity, large dynamic range and sharp frequency tuning. While there is much evidence that amplification results from active force generation by mechanosensory hair cells, there is debate about the cellular processes behind nonlinear amplification. Outer hair cell electromotility has been suggested to underlie the cochlear amplifier. However, it has been shown in frog and turtle that spontaneous movements of hair bundles endow them with a nonlinear response with increased sensitivity that could be the basis of amplification. The present work shows that the properties of the cochlear amplifier could be understood as resulting from the combination of both hair bundle motility and electromotility in an integrated system that couples these processes through the geometric arrangement of hair cells embedded in the cochlear partition. In this scenario, the cochlear partition can become a dynamic oscillator which in the vicinity of a Hopf bifurcation exhibits all the key properties of the cochlear amplifier. The oscillatory behavior and the nonlinearity are provided by active hair bundles. Electromotility is largely linear but produces an additional feedback that allows hair bundle movements to couple to basilar membrane vibrations.

Review series: The cell biology of hearing

Mammals have an astonishing ability to sense and discriminate sounds of different frequencies and intensities. Fundamental for this process are mechanosensory hair cells in the inner ear that convert sound-induced vibrations into electrical signals. The study of genes that are linked to deafness has provided insights into the cell biological mechanisms that control hair cell development and their function as mechanosensors.

Calcium balance and mechanotransduction in rat cochlear hair cells

Auditory transduction occurs by opening of Ca(2+)-permeable mechanotransducer (MT) channels in hair cell stereociliary bundles. Ca(2+) clearance from bundles was followed in rat outer hair cells (OHCs) using fast imaging of fluorescent indicators. Bundle deflection caused a rapid rise in Ca(2+) that decayed after the stimulus, with a time constant of about 50 ms. The time constant was increased by blocking Ca(2+) uptake into the subcuticular plate mitochondria or by inhibiting the hair bundle plasma membrane Ca(2+) ATPase (PMCA) pump. Such manipulations raised intracellular Ca(2+) and desensitized the MT channels. Measurement of the electrogenic PMCA pump current, which saturated at 18 pA with increasing Ca(2+) loads, indicated a maximum Ca(2+) extrusion rate of 3.7 fmol x s(-1). The amplitude of the Ca(2+) transient decreased in proportion to the Ca(2+) concentration bathing the bundle and in artificial endolymph (160 mM K(+), 20 microM Ca(2+)), Ca(2+) carried 0.2% of the MT current. Nevertheless, MT currents in endolymph displayed fast adaptation with a submillisecond time constant. In endolymph, roughly 40% of the MT current was activated at rest when using 1 mM intracellular BAPTA compared with 12% with 1 mM EGTA, which enabled estimation of the in vivo Ca(2+) load as 3 pA at rest. The results were reproduced by a model of hair bundle Ca(2+) diffusion, showing that the measured PMCA pump density could handle Ca(2+) loads incurred from resting and maximal MT currents in endolymph. The model also indicated the endogenous mobile buffer was equivalent to 1 mM BAPTA.

Somatic motility and hair bundle mechanics, are both necessary for cochlear amplification?

Hearing organs have evolved to detect sounds across several orders of magnitude of both intensity and frequency. Detection limits are at the atomic level despite the energy associated with sound being limited thermodynamically. Several mechanisms have evolved to account for the remarkable frequency selectivity, dynamic range, and sensitivity of these various hearing organs, together termed the active process or cochlear amplifier. Similarities between hearing organs of disparate species provides insight into the factors driving the development of the cochlear amplifier. These properties include: a tonotopic map, the emergence of a two hair cell system, the separation of efferent and afferent innervations, the role of the tectorial membrane, and the shift from intrinsic tuning and amplification to a more end organ driven process. Two major contributors to the active process are hair bundle mechanics and outer hair cell electromotility, the former present in all hair cell organs tested, the latter only present in mammalian cochlear outer hair cells. Both of these processes have advantages and disadvantages, and how these processes interact to generate the active process in the mammalian system is highly disputed. A hypothesis is put forth suggesting that hair bundle mechanics provides amplification and filtering in most hair cells, while in mammalian cochlea, outer hair cell motility provides the amplification on a cycle by cycle basis driven by the hair bundle that provides frequency selectivity (in concert with the tectorial membrane) and compressive nonlinearity. Separating components of the active process may provide additional sites for regulation of this process.

The passive cable properties of hair cell stereocilia and their contribution to somatic capacitance measurements

Somatic measurements of whole-cell capacitance are routinely used to understand physiologic events occurring in remote portions of cells. These studies often assume the intracellular space is voltage-clamped. We questioned this assumption in auditory and vestibular hair cells with respect to their stereocilia based on earlier studies showing that neurons, with radial dimensions similar to stereocilia, are not always isopotential under voltage-clamp. To explore this, we modeled the stereocilia as passive cables with transduction channels located at their tips. We found that the input capacitance measured at the soma changes when the transduction channels at the tips of the stereocilia are open compared to when the channels are closed. The maximum capacitance is felt with the transducer closed but will decrease as the transducer opens due to a length-dependent voltage drop along the stereocilium length. This potential drop is proportional to the intracellular resistance and stereocilium tip conductance and can produce a maximum capacitance error on the order of fF for single stereocilia and pF for the bundle.

Fate of mammalian cochlear hair cells and stereocilia after loss of the stereocilia

Cochlear hair cells transduce mechanical stimuli into electrical activity. The site of hair cell transduction is the hair bundle, an array of stereocilia with different height arranged in a staircase. Tip links connect the apex of each stereocilium to the side of its taller neighbor. The hair bundle and tip links of hair cells are susceptible to acoustic trauma and ototoxic drugs. It has been shown that hair cells in lower vertebrates and in the mammalian vestibular system may survive bundle loss and undergo self-repair of the stereocilia. Our goals were to determine whether cochlear hair cells could survive the trauma and whether the tip link and/or the hair bundle could be regenerated. We simulated the acoustic trauma-induced tip link damage or stereociliary loss by disrupting tip links or ablating the hair bundles in the cultured organ of Corti from neonatal gerbils. Hair-cell fate and stereociliary morphology and function were examined using confocal and scanning electron microscopies and electrophysiology. Most bundleless hair cells survived and developed for approximately 2 weeks. However, no spontaneous hair-bundle regeneration was observed. When tip links were ruptured, repair of tip links and restoration of mechanotransduction were observed in <24 h. Our study suggests that the dynamic nature of the hair cell's transduction apparatus is retained despite the fact that regeneration of the hair bundle is lost in mammalian cochlear hair cells.

Localisation of the mechanotransducer channels in mammalian cochlear hair cells provides clues to their gating

Our sense of hearing and balance relies on the very rapid gating of mechanotransducer channels known to be located close to the tops of the hair cell stereocilia within the stereociliary bundle. The molecular identity of the channels is unknown but functional aspects such as permeation, block and sensitivity to bundle displacement are well known. The channel has high calcium permeability and this feature has been used in conjunction with fast confocal calcium imaging to unambiguously localise the channels at the top of the two shorter rows of stereocilia in mammalian cochlear hair cells. The data suggest that they are completely absent from the tallest row. It is thought that the structures connecting stereocilia in adjacent rows, the tip links, are either directly responsible for the channel's mechanical gating, or are closely associated with the gating process. The channels must therefore be associated with the bottom part of the tip links and not the top. This feature has important implications for both the channel's gating mechanism and its regulatory adaptation mechanism. The tip link remains an attractive candidate for mechanical coupling between the bundle and the channel or an accessory protein. The localisation of the mechanotransducer channels to the lower end of the tip link represents an important milestone in the journey towards eventual identification of the channel and its gating mechanism.

Mechanotransduction by hair cells: models, molecules, and mechanisms

Mechanotransduction, the transformation of mechanical force into an electrical signal, allows living organisms to hear, register movement and gravity, detect touch, and sense changes in cell volume and shape. Hair cells in the inner ear are specialized mechanoreceptor cells that detect sound and head movement. The mechanotransduction machinery of hair cells is extraordinarily sensitive and responds to minute physical displacements on a submillisecond timescale. The recent discovery of several molecular constituents of the mechanotransduction machinery of hair cells provides a new framework for the interpretation of biophysical data and necessitates revision of prevailing models of mechanotransduction.

Power efficiency of outer hair cell somatic electromotility

Cochlear outer hair cells (OHCs) are fast biological motors that serve to enhance the vibration of the organ of Corti and increase the sensitivity of the inner ear to sound. Exactly how OHCs produce useful mechanical power at auditory frequencies, given their intrinsic biophysical properties, has been a subject of considerable debate. To address this we formulated a mathematical model of the OHC based on first principles and analyzed the power conversion efficiency in the frequency domain. The model includes a mixture-composite constitutive model of the active lateral wall and spatially distributed electro-mechanical fields. The analysis predicts that: 1) the peak power efficiency is likely to be tuned to a specific frequency, dependent upon OHC length, and this tuning may contribute to the place principle and frequency selectivity in the cochlea; 2) the OHC power output can be detuned and attenuated by increasing the basal conductance of the cell, a parameter likely controlled by the brain via the efferent system; and 3) power output efficiency is limited by mechanical properties of the load, thus suggesting that impedance of the organ of Corti may be matched regionally to the OHC. The high power efficiency, tuning, and efferent control of outer hair cells are the direct result of biophysical properties of the cells, thus providing the physical basis for the remarkable sensitivity and selectivity of hearing.

Defining features of the hair cell mechanoelectrical transducer channel

This review summarizes current knowledge of the hair cell mechanotransducer channel, the ion channel responsible for detecting mechanical stimuli in the inner ear and one of the few channels whose molecular structure is still unknown. Several candidate proteins have been proposed, especially members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) channel family, but all have so far failed in one test or another. Furthermore, none has biophysical properties exactly matching the native channel. The defining features of the native mechanotransducer channel are documented, including ionic permeability, channel structure inferred from blocking agents, diversity in channel conductance, and regulation by Ca(2+), which are compared with a potential candidate, TRP channels of the polycystin family. The strengths and weaknesses of a TRP channel contender are discussed.

Quo vadis, hair cell regeneration?

Hearing loss is a global health problem with profound socioeconomic impact. We contend that acquired hearing loss is mainly a modern disorder caused by man-made noise and modern drugs, among other causes. These factors, combined with increasing lifespan, have exposed a deficit in cochlear self-regeneration that was irrelevant for most of mammalian evolution. Nevertheless, the mammalian cochlea has evolved from phylogenetically older structures, which do have the capacity for self-repair. Moreover, nonmammalian vertebrates can regenerate auditory hair cells that restore sensory function. We will offer a critical perspective on recent advances in stem cell biology, gene therapy, cell cycle regulation and pharmacotherapeutics to define and validate regenerative medical interventions for mammalian hair cell loss. Although these advances are promising, we are only beginning to fully appreciate the complexity of the many challenges that lie ahead.