Control of a hair bundle's mechanosensory function by its mechanical load

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that the mechanosensory function of hair cells can be experimentally controlled by adjusting their mechanical load, allowing a single hair bundle to mimic different sensory roles across species and receptor organs.

Contribution

It shows that altering a few key parameters of a hair bundle's mechanical load can switch its sensory function, revealing a fundamental similarity across different species and receptor types.

Findings

Hair cell function can be controlled by mechanical load adjustments.

Single hair bundle can mimic different sensory roles.

Fundamental similarity of hair bundles across species.

Abstract

Hair cells, the sensory receptors of the internal ear, subserve different functions in various receptor organs: they detect oscillatory stimuli in the auditory system, but transduce constant and step stimuli in the vestibular and lateral-line systems. We show that a hair cell's function can be controlled experimentally by adjusting its mechanical load. By making bundles from a single organ operate as any of four distinct types of signal detector, we demonstrate that altering only a few key parameters can fundamentally change a sensory cell's role. The motions of a single hair bundle can resemble those of a bundle from the amphibian vestibular system, the reptilian auditory system, or the mammalian auditory system, demonstrating an essential similarity of bundles across species and receptor organs.