Fig. 7: Pillar cells possess Ca2+-dependent contractile machinery. | Nature Communications

Fig. 7: Pillar cells possess Ca2+-dependent contractile machinery.

From: TRPA1 activation in non-sensory supporting cells contributes to regulation of cochlear sensitivity after acoustic trauma

Fig. 7: Pillar cells possess Ca2+-dependent contractile machinery.The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

a Bright field image of the experimental setup. An outer pillar cell that was patched with a pipette containing caged Ca2+ (1 mM NP-EGTA pre-mixed with 0.7 mM Ca2+) and Ca2+ indicator, fluo-4 (50 µM). b Fluo-4 image of this pillar cell before (1) and after (2) UV flash photolysis (arb. units., arbitrary units). Data are representative of 4 independent series. c Representative traces of fluo-4 fluorescence (top), whole-cell current (middle) and the cell diameter (bottom) in the wild-type pillar cell filled with caged Ca2+ (black) and a control cell filled with EGTA instead of NP-EGTA (gray). The timing of UV stimulation is indicated with an arrow and a vertical dashed line. d, e Average changes of fluo-4 fluorescence (d) and cell diameter (e) 5 min after UV stimulation in wild-type pillar cells containing either caged Ca2+ (filled bars) or control EGTA (open bars). The data are shown as Mean ± SE, with n = pillar cells. Asterisks indicate statistical significance (P = 0.009 in (d), and P = 0.008 in (e), two-sided Student’s t test). The UV illumination consisted of 15–25 laser pulses (1 ms) for a total duration of 90–150 ms. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

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