PHARMACOLOGY OF ISOLATED OUTER HAIR CELLS

这项研究的长期目标是阐明 耳蜗会分析声音。其他人已经证明了单根外毛 体外分离的细胞改变其纵向长度以响应 化学或电刺激。这些数据和其他数据表明， 外毛细胞在高敏感性信号转导过程中发挥作用 对声音的反应，这已经包括在几个 模特们。我们的目标是确定化学物质，如神经递质， 调节剂和存在于耳蜗中的其他化学物质与 外毛细胞并改变它们在转导过程中的作用。这个 需要检验的假设是，化学物质被认为是传出的 耳蜗中的神经递质、神经调节剂和其他化学物质 与外毛细胞上的受体反应，产生一个或多个 外毛细胞的以下变化：1)长度，和/或2)离子 通道活性，和/或3)鸟核苷酸结合(G)蛋白 活动。我们将检查通过测试发现的任何变化的机制 除了监测化学物质对离子的影响之外的拮抗剂 分离毛细胞的通道活动。这条信息应该有助于 研究人员和医生在识别疾病状态方面可能 涉及外毛细胞功能障碍的发现和处理 提出了药物干预疗法。

The long-term objective of this research is to shed light on how the cochlea analyzes sound. Others have demonstrated that single outer hair cells isolated in vitro change their longitudinal lengths in response to chemical or electrical stimuli. These and other data suggest that the outer hair cells play a role in the high sensitivity transduction process of the cochlea in response to sound and this has been included in several models. Our goal is to determine how chemicals such as neurotransmitters, modulators, and other chemicals present in the cochlea interact with the outer hair cells and alter their role in the transduction process. The hypothesis to be tested is that chemicals proposed as efferent neurotransmitters and neuromodulators and other chemicals in the cochlea react with receptors on the outer hair cells to produce one or more of the following changes in the outer hair cells: 1) length, and/or 2) ion channel activity, and/or 3) guanine nucleotide binding (G) protein activity. We will examine the mechanisms of any changes found by testing antagonists in addition to monitoring the effects of the chemicals on ion channel activity in the isolated hair cells. This information should aid researchers and physicians in identifying disease states which might involve malfunction of the outer hair cells in the processing of found and in proposing drug intervention therapy.