Polymyxin-B-binding sites in the cochlea as demonstrated by polymyxin-B/gold labeling.

A polymyxin-B/bovine-serum-albumin/gold complex was used as a probe to detect the binding sites of polymyxin B on thin sections of cochlea embedded in Spurr's resin. The binding sites were found to be mainly located on the stereocilia, the cuticular plate of hair cells, the head plate of Deiters' cells, the tonofilaments in pillar cells and Deiters' cells, fibrous structures in the spiral limbus, the tectorial membrane and the basilar membrane and neural elements such as nerve endings, fibers, and the myelin sheath. The mitochondria, plasma membrane, and chromatin of the nuclei of the cells observed also exhibited binding. Our results suggest that phospholipids, glycoconjugates, cytoskeletal proteins and nucleic acids are responsible for this binding activity.