Association of intracellular and synaptic organization in cochlear inner hair cells revealed by 3D electron microscopy.

ABSTRACT: The ways in which cell architecture is modelled to meet cell function is a poorly understood facet of cell biology. To address this question, we have studied the cytoarchitecture of a cell with highly specialised organisation, the cochlear inner hair cell (IHC), using multiple hierarchies of three-dimensional (3D) electron microscopy analyses. We show that synaptic terminal distribution on the IHC surface correlates with cell shape, and the distribution of a highly organised network of membranes and mitochondria encompassing the infranuclear region of the cell. This network is juxtaposed to a population of small vesicles, which represents a potential new source of neurotransmitter vesicles for replenishment of the synapses. Structural linkages between organelles that underlie this organisa

SUBMITTER: Bullen A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4510854 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature