Abstract
Regulation of important cellular functions via signaling pathways is a fundamental property of the cell. Intracellular Ca2+ is probably a best known second messenger in cell biology. In mechanosensory cells of the inner ear, the hair cells, intracellular Ca2+ participates in a variety of functions including mechano-electrical transduction, synaptic transmission, and efferent regulation of the outer hair cells, one of two types of hair cells in the mammalian cochlea. The outer hair cells are responsible for the amplification of sound-induced vibrations within the cochlea, which determines the sensitivity of mammalian hearing. Besides Ca2+, another intracellular ion, Cl- may have very specific function in the same outer hair cells. Intracellular Cl- is required for the motor function of prestin, a unique plasma membrane molecular motor of these cells. The goal of this article is to review practical aspects of the techniques suitable for imaging of Ca2+ and Cl- in live mammalian cochlear hair cells.
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Acknowledgments
I thank Dr. Guy P. Richardson for teaching me his technique of culturing organ of Corti explants. The author is supported by the Deafness Research Foundation, the National Organization for Hearing Research Foundation, and the University of Kentucky.
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© 2009 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
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Frolenkov, G.I. (2009). Ion Imaging in the Cochlear Hair Cells. In: Sokolowski, B. (eds) Auditory and Vestibular Research. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 493. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-523-7_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-523-7_23
Publisher Name: Humana Press
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