Nanoscale Organization of the OHC Lateral Wall

描述(由申请人提供)：本申请的长期目标是确定耳蜗外毛细胞中发现的一种膜蛋白，在本例中为prestin，如何使电压诱导细胞变形。为此，我们将研究蛋白质-蛋白质、蛋白质-脂质和膜-细胞骨架相互作用。为了了解prestin如何影响膜的变形，我们将使用一种名为荧光偏振显微镜(FPM)的光学技术来研究膜分子在扰动下的行为。我们还将使用相同的技术研究组成细胞骨架的分子在变形下的表现。最后，尽管Prestin被广泛认为是毛囊细胞中的膜马达蛋白，但对其作用机制知之甚少。我们假设Prestin可能与自身或其他膜蛋白相互作用，引起长度变化，并建议使用荧光共振能量转移来量化相互作用的程度。每一项拟议研究的结果都将进一步阐明Prestin在电动方面的作用及其作为膜蛋白的功能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long term goal of this application is to determine how a membrane protein, in this case prestin, found in cochlear outer hair cells (OHCs), can enable voltage-induced cell deformation. To this end, we will study protein-protein, protein-lipid, and membrane-cytoskeleton interactions. To understand how prestin affects membrane deformation, we will study the behavior of membrane molecules under perturbation using an optical technique called fluorescence polarization microscopy (FPM). We will also study how molecules that comprise the cytoskeleton behave under deformation using the same technique. Lastly, though prestin is widely accepted as the membrane motor protein in OHCs, little is known about its mechanism of action. We hypothesize that prestin may be interacting with itself or other membrane proteins to induce length changes and propose to use fluorescence resonance energy transfer to quantify the degree of interaction. The results from each of these proposed studies will further elucidate prestin's role in electromotility and its function as a membrane protein.