Macromolecular and electrical coupling between inner hair cells in the rodent cochlea.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Jean P
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7316811 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Macromolecular and electrical coupling between inner hair cells in the rodent cochlea.
Jean Philippe P Anttonen Tommi T Michanski Susann S de Diego Antonio M G AMG Steyer Anna M AM Neef Andreas A Oestreicher David D Kroll Jana J Nardis Christos C Pangršič Tina T Möbius Wiebke W Ashmore Jonathan J Wichmann Carolin C Moser Tobias T
Nature communications 20200625 1
Inner hair cells (IHCs) are the primary receptors for hearing. They are housed in the cochlea and convey sound information to the brain via synapses with the auditory nerve. IHCs have been thought to be electrically and metabolically independent from each other. We report that, upon developmental maturation, in mice 30% of the IHCs are electrochemically coupled in 'mini-syncytia'. This coupling permits transfer of fluorescently-labeled metabolites and macromolecular tracers. The membrane capacit ...[more]
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