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Stereocilia

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Regenerative Medicine for the Inner Ear

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Abstract

The inner ear hair cells of mammals are remarkably sensitive mechanoreceptors, able to detect deflections of one atomic width. The root of this sensitivity lies in the stereocilia, apical specializations of the hair cells of protruded and bundled actin filaments. Stereocilia transduce sound stimuli into receptor potentials that are carried by the auditory nerve to the CNS. Almost half of all sensorineural deafness is caused by defects in the hair bundles. In this chapter we describe the molecular mechanisms underlying development and function of hair bundles. By exploiting this developmental knowledge it may be possible to generate hair cell-like cells and thus provide an alternative approach to regeneration-based cell therapies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan

    Tomoko Kita, Tatsuya Katsuno & Shin-ichiro Kitajiri

  2. Laboratory for Sensory Development, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan

    Tomoko Kita

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  1. Tomoko Kita
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  2. Tatsuya Katsuno
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  3. Shin-ichiro Kitajiri
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Correspondence to Tomoko Kita .

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  1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan

    Juichi Ito

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Kita, T., Katsuno, T., Kitajiri, Si. (2014). Stereocilia. In: Ito, J. (eds) Regenerative Medicine for the Inner Ear. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54862-1_4

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