Principles of structural, chemical, and functional organization of sensory receptors

Hair cell morphological patterns and polarity organization in the sea lamprey vestibular cristae

The inner ear of the sea lamprey was examined by scanning electron microscopy, antibody labeling with tubulin, Myo7a, Spectrin, and Phalloidin stain to elucidate the canal cristae organization and the morphology and polarity of the hair cells. We characterized the hair cell stereocilia bundles and their morphological polarity with respect to the kinocilia. We identified three types of hair cells. In Type 1 hair cells, the kinocilia were slightly longer than the tallest stereocilia. This type was located along the medial bank of the crista and their polarity, based on kinocilia location, was uniformly pointed ampullipetally. Type 2 hair cells that had kinocilia that were much longer than the stereocilia, were most abundant in the central region of the crista. This type of hair cell displayed variable polarity. Type 3 hair cells had extremely long kinocilia (~40-50 μm long) and with extremely short stereocilia. They were mostly located in the lateral zone crista and displayed ampullipetal polarity. Myo7a and tubulin antibodies revealed that hair cells and vestibular afferents are distributed across the canal cristae in the lamprey, covering the area of cruciate eminence; a feature that is absent in more derived vertebrates. Spectrin shows hair cells of varying polarities in the central zone. In this zone, some cells followed the main polarity vector (lateral) like those in medial and lateral zones, whereas other cells displayed polarities that carried up to 40° from the main polarity vector.

The spatial distributions of odorant sensitivity and odorant-induced currents in salamander olfactory receptor cells

1. Suction electrode and whole-cell recording were used to record membrane currents from defined regions of solitary olfactory receptor cells from Ambystoma tigrinum. 2. Under whole-cell current clamp, stimulation of cells with odorants activated an inward current in the cilia, an outward current in the soma, and induced a membrane depolarization. Clamping the membrane potential at its resting value of -70 mV increased the inward ciliary current 5- to 10-fold and abolished the outward somatic current. 3. Local odorant stimulation was accomplished by ejecting an odorant solution into a steady flow of Ringer solution. A suction electrode was used to immobilize a cell in the flow and to record the odorant-induced somatic current. The amplitude of the odorant response increased approximately linearly with the length of cilia exposed to the stimulus, but was independent of the length of dendrite exposed to the stimulus, indicating that odorant sensitivity is predominantly localized to the cilia. 4. The latencies of responses recorded under flow did not vary with the region of the cilia which was exposed to the stimulus. Also, the magnitude of the inward ciliary current activated by odorants was equal to that of the whole-cell current recorded under voltage clamp. These observations indicate that the odorant-induced inward current is predominantly localized to the ciliary membrane. 5. Under whole-cell current clamp, local application of a high-K+ solution generated an outward somatic current when applied to the dendrite, but had no effect when applied to the cilia. This indicates that the density of the resting K+ conductance is lower in the ciliary membrane than in the dendritic membrane. 6. The results above are consistent with the hypothesis that all components of the transduction mechanism are uniformly distributed within the cilia, and that the cilia are electrotonically compact, even during an odorant-induced conductance increase.

A cyclic nucleotide-gated conductance in olfactory receptor cilia

Olfactory transduction is thought to be initiated by the binding of odorants to specific receptor proteins in the cilia of olfactory receptor cells. The mechanism by which odorant binding could initiate membrane depolarization is unknown, but the recent discovery of an odorant-stimulated adenylate cyclase in purified olfactory cilia suggests that cyclic AMP may serve as an intracellular messenger for olfactory transduction. If so, then there might be a conductance in the ciliary plasma membrane which is controlled by cAMP. Here we report that excised patches of ciliary plasma membrane, obtained from dissociated receptor cells, contain a conductance which is gated directly by cAMP. This conductance resembles the cyclic GMP-gated conductance that mediates phototransduction in rod and cone outer segments, but differs in that it is activated by both cAMP and cGMP. Our data provide a mechanistic basis by which an odorant-stimulated increase in cyclic nucleotide concentration could lead to an increase in membrane conductance and therefore, to membrane depolarization. These data suggest a remarkable similarity between the mechanisms of olfactory and visual transduction and indicate considerable conservation of sensory transduction mechanisms.

Vitamin A and ciliated cells. I. Respiratory epithelia

To estimate the role of vitamin A on ciliated cells we investigated whether ciliated cells undergo any alteration during vitamin A deficiency. The epithelia examined include the ciliated cells of the respiratory tract and the ciliated sensory cells of the inner ear, the tongue, and the olfactory cells. This part of the paper will describe the ciliated epithelium of the tracheobronchial tract and its relation to vitamin A status. During vitamin A deficiency a partial loss of ciliae can be observed before any squamous metaplasia (which usually occurs during longer lasting vitamin A deficiency) develops. The scanning electron microscopic data illustrate the altered surface of the epithelium during vitamin A deficiency better than transmission electron microscopy.

[Vitamin A and the ear. Review of the literature]

Since the first characterization and description of vitamin A this is used in otolaryngologic therapy for different forms of hearing disorders, and its relation to the inner ear is subject of investigation. Animal experiments and clinical studies were done to clarify the significance of vitamin A for the function of hearing. Besides this there were a lot of observations describing correlations between vitamin A metabolism and hearing loss. Recent investigations showed that vitamin A is present in high concentrations in the inner ear and stored there. Morphological experiments revealed different and in some way contradictory results, but they showed that vitamin A seems to be essential for inner-ear morphogenesis.

Experimental studies on the role of vitamin A in the inner ear

With the sole exception of the hair cells of the inner ear, where information is lacking, all special somatic afferent receptor cells have been shown to be dependent upon vitamin A for normal function. In view of the paucity of information on the role of vitamin A in the inner ear, three experiments were performed to examine this relationship. Temporal bone histopathology was studied in rats deprived of vitamin A. In a second experiment, vitamin A-deficient rats were maintained with vitamin A acid and the histopathology was studied under the light microscope. In the third experiment, a microfluorometric estimate of the content of vitamin A in the guinea pig cochlea was performed. A fluorescent compound with the exact spectral characteristics of vitamin A was found in the guinea pig cochlea at a concentration of 21.2 micrograms/gm, which is ten times the vitamin A concentration found in most other tissues.

Estimate of vitamin A in the guinea pig cochlea

Microfluorometric estimates of the membranous structures of the freeze-dried guinea pig cochlea have demonstrated that vitamin A is present in these tissues at a concentration of 21.2 microgram/gm (SD +/- 4.77 microgram) which is approximately ten times the vitamin A concentration in most other tissues.

Sensory innervation in the rim of the octopus sucker

Anatomical components of afferent innervation in the rim of the octopus sucker are described. In the sensory epithelium under the smooth cuticle two associated ciliated receptor cell-types (presumably chemosensitive) occur in clusters. A third ciliated receptor cell-type under the toothed cuticle may be a mechanoreceptor. A non-ciliated receptor cell-type of unknown function, under the toothed culticle, is characterized by a microvillus-lined apical canal containing dense granular material. The axons of the latter two receptors go directly into large nerve tracts which run through the infundibular muscle and on to the ganglion of the sucker. The axons of the first cell-types terminated on interneurons either in the base of the epithelium or below the epithelium. All the interneurons of the basal region of the epithelium migrate centripetally and develop into encapsulated interneurons. Within the epithelium, fine fibers provide collateral contact among cluster receptors. Collateral interaction among basal and encapsulated interneurons occur in the infundibular plexus. The microanatomy of the rim of the sucker suggests that chemosensory cues are funneled into the interneurons where they are concentrated into integrated signals, while other sensory input is probably sent directly to the ganglia of the sucker and/or arm.