Collaborative Research: Biomechanics of Vertebrate Hair Cells: Experimental and Computation Analyses

IBN-9724123 PI：彼得森脊椎动物的内耳含有被称为毛细胞的机械感受器。每个细胞表面都有一束毛发状的微小突起，称为纤毛束。这个睫状束对偏转非常敏感，机械偏转的大小和方向导致耳朵发出关于头部位置或声音的神经信号。在耳朵的不同部位有不同的束形态，但这些差异可能的功能重要性在很大程度上仍然是推测的。这个项目是一项合作的生物工程努力，涉及现代成像和计算技术，以阐明这种多样性的可能功能。使用光学和电子显微镜对束状物进行详细测量，并将其纳入计算有限元模型，以量化不同结构元素对束状物微观力学的贡献。一种新的光纤系统被用于在分离的活毛细胞中直接测试毛细胞束的硬度，以与不同形态类别的毛细胞束的模型预测进行比较。结果将不仅对听觉和前庭感觉生物学产生影响，而且更广泛地影响对机械-接收的理解，并可能对纳米级的人工生物传感器和生物技术产生影响。

IBN-9724123 PI: Peterson The inner ear of vertebrates contains mechanosensory receptors called hair cells. Each cell has extending from its surface a tuft of hairlike microscopic processes called a ciliary bundle. This ciliary bundle is extremely sensitive to deflection, and the amount and direction of mechanical deflection leads to a nerve signal from the ear about head position or about sound. There are differences in bundle morphology in different parts of the ear, but a possible functional importance for these differences has remained largely speculative. This project is a collaborative bioengineering effort involving modern imaging and computational technology to clarify possible functions for this diversity. LIght and electron microscopy are used for detailed measurements of the bundles, which are incorporated into a computational finite-element model to quantify the contribution of different structural elements to bundle micromechanics. A new fiber-optic system is used for direct tests of the bundle stiffness in isolated living hair cells, to compare with model predictions for different morphological categories of hair cell bundles. Results will have impact not only on auditory and vestibular sensory biology, but more broadly on understanding echanoreception, and with a likely impact on artificial biosensors and biotechnology at the nanoscale.