Prestin and the cholinergic receptor of hair cells: positively-selected proteins in mammals.

ABSTRACT: The hair cells of the vertebrate inner ear posses active mechanical processes to amplify their inputs. The stereocilia bundle of various vertebrate animals can produce active movements. Though standard stereocilia-based mechanisms to promote amplification persist in mammals, an additional radically different mechanism evolved: the so-called somatic electromotility which refers to the elongation/contraction of the outer hair cells' (OHC) cylindrical cell body in response to membrane voltage changes. Somatic electromotility in OHCs, as the basis for cochlear amplification, is a mammalian novelty and it is largely dependent upon the properties of the unique motor protein prestin. We review recent literature which has demonstrated that although the gene encoding prestin is present in all verte

SUBMITTER: Elgoyhen AB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2888882 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature