Stereocilia
Stereocilia - Related Videos
06:47
Stereocilia Bundle Imaging with Nanoscale Resolution in Live Mammalian Auditory Hair Cells
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Cited by 2 •
2021
Here we present a protocol for the Hopping Probe Ion Conductance Microscopy (HPICM), a non-contact scanning probe technique that allows nanoscale imaging of stereocilia bundles in live auditory hair cells.
01:22
Hair Cells
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2019
Hair cells are the sensory receptors of the auditory system—they transduce mechanical sound waves into electrical energy that the nervous system can understand. Hair cells are located in the organ of Corti within the cochlea of the inner ear, between the basilar and tectorial membranes. The actual sensory receptors are called inner hair cells. The outer hair cells serve other functions, such as sound amplification in the cochlea, and are not discussed in detail here. Hair cells are named after...
10:40
Direct Delivery of MIF Morpholinos Into the Zebrafish Otocyst by Injection and Electroporation Affects Inner Ear Development
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Cited by 8 •
2011
A method to deliver morpholinos directly into the zebrafish otocyst at 24hpf has been developed. Using microinjection of morpholinos into the lumen of otic vesicle and electroporation to effect penetration, we were able to bypass the effect of morpholinos on the brain and obtain effects specific to the inner ear.
07:07
Evaluation of Planar-Cell-Polarity Phenotypes in Ciliopathy Mouse Mutant Cochlea
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Cited by 8 •
2016
Primary cilia influence various signaling pathways. The mammalian cochlea is ideal for examining planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling. Cilia dysfunction affects cochlear outgrowth, cellular patterning and hair cell orientation, readouts of PCP. Our goal is to analyze PCP signaling in mouse cochlea via phenotypic analysis, immunohistochemistry and scanning electron microscopy.
12:08
From Voxels to Knowledge: A Practical Guide to the Segmentation of Complex Electron Microscopy 3D-Data
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Cited by 14 •
2014
The bottleneck for cellular 3D electron microscopy is feature extraction (segmentation) in highly complex 3D density maps. We have developed a set of criteria, which provides guidance regarding which segmentation approach (manual, semi-automated, or automated) is best suited for different data types, thus providing a starting point for effective segmentation.
FAQs
Tip links are the connection whose tension changes when a stereocilium bends. Increased tension helps open mechanically gated ion channels, allowing an electrical signal to arise in the hair cell. This coupling links physical movement to cellular signaling, making tip-link behavior central to the way inner-ear stereocilia support hearing and balance.
Sound and head movement are different physical inputs, but both act by bending stereocilia in inner-ear sensory hair cells. That bending tensions tip links and opens mechanically gated ion channels, producing an electrical signal. The shared pathway explains how stereocilia participate in both hearing and balance while responding to distinct mechanical stimuli.
In the inner ear, stereocilia support mechanosensation: bending leads to ion-channel opening and an electrical signal for hearing or balance. In the epididymis, their primary described role is epithelial rather than sensory. They enlarge the cell surface area and help maintain the environment required for sperm maturation. Location therefore predicts the biological outcome associated with these projections.
Organization and connectivity provide complementary ways to study mechanosensitive function. Organization concerns how the projections are arranged, whereas connectivity concerns how they are linked. In inner-ear hair cells, researchers can examine both features alongside bending, tip-link tension, channel opening, and electrical signaling to relate cellular architecture to sensory output.
A useful biology comparison examines inner-ear sensory hair cells and epididymal epithelial cells separately, then relates each location to its function. For the inner ear, observations focus on bending, tip-link tension, channel opening, and electrical signaling. For the epididymis, they focus on increased surface area and maintenance of the sperm-maturation environment.
Research on stereocilia is relevant to hearing loss because inner-ear function depends on mechanically triggered electrical signaling. Investigators can focus on organization, connectivity, and mechanosensitive function when considering how sensory signaling may be affected. The topic also extends beyond hearing, since epididymal stereocilia connect cell biology with the epithelial conditions needed for sperm maturation.