Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Nin F
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3529054 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Nin Fumiaki F Reichenbach Tobias T Fisher Jonathan A N JA Hudspeth A J AJ
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20121203 51
The cochlea's high sensitivity stems from the active process of outer hair cells, which possess two force-generating mechanisms: active hair-bundle motility elicited by Ca(2+) influx and somatic motility mediated by the voltage-sensitive protein prestin. Although interference with prestin has demonstrated a role for somatic motility in the active process, it remains unclear whether hair-bundle motility contributes in vivo. We selectively perturbed the two mechanisms by infusing substances into t ...[more]