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Sensory transduction

A great TRP for hair cells

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 5, page 898 (2004)Cite this article

Although it has been clear for some time that auditory transduction in vertebrates depends on the mechanical deflection of bundles of stereocilia on hair cells, and that this deflection opens ion channels in the tips of the stereocilia that are mechanically gated, the identification of these channels has proved tricky. However, the known permeability and conductance characteristics of the mechanosensitive channel are consistent with those of TRP channels, which are responsible for sensory transduction in other modalities including taste, thermal sensation and insect hearing.

Therefore, Corey and colleagues used in situ hybridization for all of the TRP channels in the mouse genome to search for one that was expressed in the mouse inner ear. TRPA1 was expressed in hair cells of both the cochlea and the vestibular system in mice, and its expression peaked at the developmental time point when these hair cells first become mechanosensitive. Antibody labelling showed that the cellular distribution of the channels was consistent with a role for TRPA1 in mechanotransduction in the stereocilia.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Corey, D. P. et al. TRPA1 is a candidate for the mechanosensitive transduction channel of vertebrate hair cells. Nature 13 October 2004 (10.1038/nature03066)

FURTHER READING

  1. Corey, D. P. New TRP channels in hearing and mechanosensation. Neuron 39, 585–588 (2003)

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Authors
  1. Rachel Jones
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Jones, R. A great TRP for hair cells. Nat Rev Neurosci 5, 898 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1561

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1561

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