Non-muscle contractile proteins in the organ of corti
- Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (USA)
Evidence indicates that an active contractile process exists in the outer hair cells of the mammalian cochlea. Proteins ordinarily associated with muscle contraction have been identified in the outer hair cells by immunohistologic techniques. On this basis a muscle-like mechanism of contraction/relaxation has been postulated by several investigators. The possibility must be considered, however, that the contractile proteins identified thus far in inner ear structures may be nonmuscle rather than muscle forms. In skeletal muscle, actin and myosin are responsible for the physical movement of the muscle fibers, and tropomyosin and troponin are involved in regulating this movement; these four proteins, as well as a variety of proteins involved with the normal cell maintenance functions are all of a muscle-specific type. Non-muscle-like motion also depends upon the interaction of actin with myosin; however, not only are these proteins structurally different from those specific to skeletal muscle but their proportions are also different. We have used two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to study the proteins in freeze dried preparations of whole organ of Corti from the guinea pig. The identified proteins include non-muscle actin, three forms of non-muscle tropomyosin, alpha- and beta-tubulin, alpha-actinin, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH B). Myosin heavy and light chains were not detected in the organ of Corti preparation, but the levels of those proteins might be too low to be detected with the protein load used of those proteins might be too low to be detected with the protein load used for this analysis. Although troponin could not be detected, calmodulin was present. All of these findings tend to indicate that the contraction/relaxation processes that have been associated with the organ of Corti by others are of the non-muscle variety.
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31-109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 5566462
- Journal Information:
- Abstracts of the Midwinter Research Meeting; (USA), Journal Name: Abstracts of the Midwinter Research Meeting; (USA); ISSN 0742-3152
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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