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。这一数据和其他数据表明，外层空间 毛细胞在细胞的高敏感性转导过程中发挥作用 耳蜗对声音的反应，这已经被包括在几个型号中。 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2)鸟嘌呤核苷酸结合(G)蛋白活性。我们 将检查通过测试拮抗剂发现的任何变化的机制 除了监测化学物质对离子通道活性的影响 在分离的毛细胞中。这些信息应该有助于研究人员和 医生在识别可能涉及故障的疾病状态方面的作用 外毛细胞在处理声音和提出药物方面的作用 介入疗法。

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. This and other data suggests 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 2) 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 sound and in proposing drug intervention therapy.