Keyword: bioelectricity
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Electrical control of hair-cell mechanosensitivity in the inner ear
Sounds are detected in the inner ear by mechano-sensory “hair cells”. Hearing starts with sound-evoked deflections of the hair bundle, a cohesive tuft of stereocilia that works as the hair cell’s mechanical antenna (Fig. 1). These movements modulate tension in the tip links (Fig 1, inset) that pull on mechanosensitive ion channels, resulting in an…
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Electrohydraulic properties of cell assemblies
In addition to generating forces and reacting to mechanical cues, tissues are capable of actively transporting fluids and of creating electric currents. Tissues hydraulic properties are crucial during morphogenesis: for instance, mammalian embryos self-organize around spherical fluid cavities (lumens). Similarly, bioelectric properties of nonexcitable cells are crucial during wound healing, and suspected to play a…