The remarkable lifelong stability of mechanotransducing stereocilia of the inner ear hair cells depends on the activity of the transduction ion channels located at the tips of these mechanosensory projections.
A new purification method for stereocilia membranes enables efficient immunoaffinity purification of rare protein complexes from hair cell stereocilia, including the newly described complex of deafness genes PDZD7 and MYO7A.
Super-resolution microscopy reveals a highly organized compartment in the stereocilia of mechanosensory hair cells of the inner ear, which is critical for hair cell function and affected in disease.
Structures of a mouse PCDH15 and LHFPL5 complex, two proteins involved in converting sound into electrical signals, illuminate how mechanical stimuli are delivered to the membrane of inner ear hair cells.
The tail domain of Myosin III binds to and cross-links actin bundling protein Espin1 and thus modulates higher order actin bundle structures in cellular processes such as stereocilia and microvilli.
Emx2 is not required for sibling HCs to acquire their designated locations within the neuromast, inferring that Emx2 mediates opposite HC orientation by changing location of hair bundle establishment.
The ability of hair cells to produce an electrical signal in response to a mechanical stimulus stems from tension in the elastic tip links within the bundles.
