Investigation of the Mechanoelectrical Transduction at Single Stereocilia by Afm

The transduction of sound into an electrical signal in the inner ear is closely related to the mechanical properties of the hair bundles cytoskeleton and cross-linkage. In this study the effect of lateral cross-links on hair bundle mechanics and the transduction current response is demonstrated on the level of individual stereocilia. For experiments stereocilia of outer hair cells of postnatal rats (P3 - P8) were scanned with a sharp AFM tip at nanometerscale. Transduction currents were simultaneously recorded in the whole-cell-recording mode with patch clamp. AFM was used as a nanotool for local mechanical stimulation and force measurement at stereocilia whereas patch clamp serves as a detector for the electrical response of the cell. In a first experiment force transmission between adjacent stereocilia of the V- and W- shaped hair bundles of outer hair cells was investigated. Results showed that a force exerted to a single stereocilium declined to 36 % at the nearest adjacent stereocilium of the same row. This result supposes AFM to be convenient for local displacement of single stereocilia. For control, the local response of transduction channels was measured at single stereocilia of the same hair bundle. Measured transduction current amplitudes ranged from 9 to 49 pA supposing an opening of one to five transduction channels. Both, weak force transmission by lateral cross-links and small transduction current amplitudes indicate a weak mechanical interaction between individual stereocilia of the tallest row of stereocilia of outer hair cells from postnatal rats.