Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Qiu, Xufeng
• Müller, Ulrich

Titel

Sensing sound: Cellular specializations and molecular force sensors

Ist Teil von

• Neuron (Cambridge, Mass.), 2022-11, Vol.110 (22), p.3667-3687

Ort / Verlag

United States: Elsevier Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2022

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Organisms of all phyla express mechanosensitive ion channels with a wide range of physiological functions. In recent years, several classes of mechanically gated ion channels have been identified. Some of these ion channels are intrinsically mechanosensitive. Others depend on accessory proteins to regulate their response to mechanical force. The mechanotransduction machinery of cochlear hair cells provides a particularly striking example of a complex force-sensing machine. This molecular ensemble is embedded into a specialized cellular compartment that is crucial for its function. Notably, mechanotransduction channels of cochlear hair cells are not only critical for auditory perception. They also shape their cellular environment and regulate the development of auditory circuitry. Here, we summarize recent discoveries that have shed light on the composition of the mechanotransduction machinery of cochlear hair cells and how this machinery contributes to the development and function of the auditory system. Qiu and Müller review recent progress in the field of auditory mechanotransduction that has revealed that the mechanotransduction machinery of cochlear hair cells is a complex molecular machine. Notably, hair cell mechanotransduction is not only important for sensory perception but also shapes hair cell morphology and auditory circuits.