Intracellular calcium and outer hair cell electromotility

Magdolna Szönyi, David Z.Z. He, Ottó Ribári, István Sziklai, Peter Dallos*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

The influence of increased intracellular calcium level on outer hair cell (OHC) electromotility was examined by means of transcellular electrical stimulation in a partitioning microchamber. Electromotile activity was measured before and after application of the calcium ionophore ionomycin, which promotes the inflow of extracellular calcium, as well as its release from intracellular calcium stores. The ionomycin solvent, dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO), by itself elicited a significant decrease in the magnitude of OHC electromotility. The DMSO effect was counteracted by 10 μM ionomycin and was reversed by 50 μM ionomycin. The increase in electromotility is partially mediated by a calmodulin-dependent mechanism, since W7, a calmodulin antagonist, attenuated the 50 μM ionomycin-induced motility increase. Our results suggest that the electromotility magnitude increase in isolated OHCs due to ionomycin is a calcium/calmodulin-dependent phenomenon.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)65-70
Number of pages6
JournalBrain research
Volume922
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 13 2001

Funding

This work was supported by OTKA (Hungarian National Research Fund) grants T025050 and T 25231.

Keywords

  • Calcium
  • Electromotility
  • Ionomycin
  • Outer hair cell
  • Signal transduction

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience
  • Molecular Biology
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Developmental Biology

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