Spontaneous calcium transients in hair cell stereocilia.

ABSTRACT: The hair bundle of auditory and vestibular hair cells converts mechanical stimuli into electrical signals through mechanoelectrical transduction (MET). The MET apparatus is built around a tip link that connects neighboring stereocilia that are aligned in the direction of mechanosensitivity of the hair bundle. Upon stimulation, the MET channel complex responds to changes in tip-link tension and allows a cation influx into the cell. Ca²⁺ influx in stereocilia has been used as a signature of MET activity. Using genetically encoded Ca²⁺ sensors (GCaMP3, GCaMP6s) and high-performance fluorescence confocal microscopy, we detect spontaneous Ca²⁺ transients in individual stereocilia in developing and fully formed hair bundles. We demonstrate that this activity is a

SUBMITTER: Hussain S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12480455 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature