Mechanotransduction is required for establishing and maintaining mature inner hair cells and regulating efferent innervation

Laura F. Corns, Stuart L. Johnson, Terri Roberts, Kishani M. Ranatunga, Aenea Hendry, Federico Ceriani, Saaid Safieddine, Karen P. Steel, Andy Forge, Christine Petit, David N. Furness, Corné J. Kros and Walter Marcotti ()
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Laura F. Corns: University of Sheffield
Stuart L. Johnson: University of Sheffield
Terri Roberts: University of Sussex, Falmer
Kishani M. Ranatunga: University of Sussex, Falmer
Aenea Hendry: University of Sheffield
Federico Ceriani: University of Sheffield
Saaid Safieddine: Unité de Génétique et Physiologie de l’Audition, Institut Pasteur
Karen P. Steel: King’s College London
Andy Forge: UCL Ear Institute, University College London
Christine Petit: Unité de Génétique et Physiologie de l’Audition, Institut Pasteur
David N. Furness: School of Life Sciences, Keele University
Corné J. Kros: University of Sussex, Falmer
Walter Marcotti: University of Sheffield

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract In the adult auditory organ, mechanoelectrical transducer (MET) channels are essential for transducing acoustic stimuli into electrical signals. In the absence of incoming sound, a fraction of the MET channels on top of the sensory hair cells are open, resulting in a sustained depolarizing current. By genetically manipulating the in vivo expression of molecular components of the MET apparatus, we show that during pre-hearing stages the MET current is essential for establishing the electrophysiological properties of mature inner hair cells (IHCs). If the MET current is abolished in adult IHCs, they revert into cells showing electrical and morphological features characteristic of pre-hearing IHCs, including the re-establishment of cholinergic efferent innervation. The MET current is thus critical for the maintenance of the functional properties of adult IHCs, implying a degree of plasticity in the mature auditory system in response to the absence of normal transduction of acoustic signals.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06307-w

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