Contractility in type III cochlear fibrocytes is dependent on non-muscle myosin II and intercellular gap junctional coupling.

ABSTRACT: The cochlear spiral ligament is a connective tissue that plays diverse roles in normal hearing. Spiral ligament fibrocytes are classified into functional sub-types that are proposed to carry out specialized roles in fluid homeostasis, the mediation of inflammatory responses to trauma, and the fine tuning of cochlear mechanics. We derived a secondary sub-culture from guinea pig spiral ligament, in which the cells expressed protein markers of type III or "tension" fibrocytes, including non-muscle myosin II (nmII), α-smooth muscle actin (αsma), vimentin, connexin43 (cx43), and aquaporin-1. The cells formed extensive stress fibers containing αsma, which were also associated intimately with nmII expression, and the cells displayed the mechanically contractile phenotype predicted by earlier mode

SUBMITTER: Kelly JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3387305 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature