Much is known about the mechanotransducer (MT) channels mediating transduction in hair
cells of the vertrbrate inner ear. With the use of isolated preparations, it is experimentally …

The cytoskeleton is an interconnected network that provides support and organization to
cells. In eukaryotes, its main components include actin and microtubules, two types of …

Mitochondrial division, essential for survival in mammals, is enhanced by an inter-organellar
process involving ER tubules encircling and constricting mitochondria. The force for …

Mechanotransduction, the transformation of mechanical force into an electrical signal, allows
living organisms to hear, register movement and gravity, detect touch, and sense changes in …

Cells use the actin cytoskeleton for many of their functions, including their division,
adhesion, mechanosensing, endo-and phagocytosis, migration, and invasion. Actin bundles …

Mammals have an astonishing ability to sense and discriminate sounds of different
frequencies and intensities. Fundamental for this process are mechanosensory hair cells in …

Sensory hair cells of the inner ear are exposed to continuous mechanical stress, causing
damage over time. The maintenance of hair cells is further challenged by damage from a …

Hearing loss (HL), or deafness in its most severe form, affects an estimated 28 and 22.5
million Americans and Europeans, respectively. The numbers are higher in regions such as …

Summary Myosin XVa (MyoXVa) and its cargo whirlin are implicated in deafness and
vestibular dysfunction and have been shown to localize at stereocilia tips and to be essential …

In the most accepted model for hair cell mechanotransduction, a cluster of myosin motors
located at the stereocilia upper tip-link density (UTLD) keeps the tip-link under tension at …