The incorporation and turnover of radiolabelled amino acids in developing stereocilia of the chick cochlea

Pickles, JO; Billieux-Hawkins, DA; Rouse, GW

HERO ID

1514993

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year

1996

Language

English

PMID

8951431

HERO ID 1514993
In Press No
Year 1996
Title The incorporation and turnover of radiolabelled amino acids in developing stereocilia of the chick cochlea
Authors Pickles, JO; Billieux-Hawkins, DA; Rouse, GW
Journal Hearing Research
Volume 101
Issue 1-2
Page Numbers 45-54
Abstract Hair cell stereocilia are composed of packed actin filaments, oriented such that the preferred end for the addition of actin monomers is at the tips of the sterocilia. It has therefore been suggested that when stereocilia grow, they do so from their tips (Tilney and DeRosier, 1986, Dev. Biol. 116, 119-129). In order to test the hypothesis, radiolabelled amino acids were applied to the air-sac of chicken eggs at day 17 of incubation, i.e., at the beginning of a phase in which the stereocilia have achieved their mature width, but are growing rapidly in length. Incorporation of radiolabel was studied autoradiographically, followed by image analysis and averaging grain counts over many hair cells. In contrast to the position expected from the above hypothesis, there was no sign of preferential incorporation of label in the upper part of the stereociliary bundle. The greatest density of labelling was found in the lower part of the bundle, while the upper part of the bundle was under-represented in the autoradiographic averages. The turnover time (to fail to 1/e) was significantly greater in the bundle (16 days) than in the cuticular plate or in the rest of the cell (9 days). The results (i) give no support for the hypothesis that stereocilia grow from the tips, and (ii) suggest that during development at least some components of the stereocilia turn over with a relatively short time course.
Pmid 8951431
Is Certified Translation No
Dupe Override No
Is Public Yes
Language Text English
Keyword Amino Acids/ metabolism; Animals; Anti-Infective Agents, Local/chemistry; Autoradiography; Basilar Membrane/cytology/ metabolism; Chick Embryo; Ciliary Body/ metabolism; Cochlea/cytology/ metabolism; Formaldehyde/chemistry; Glutaral/chemistry; Hair Cells, Auditory/cytology/metabolism; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Isotope Labeling; Polymers/chemistry; Tissue Fixation