Meyer zum Gottesberge A M
Dept. of Otolaryngology, University of Düsseldorf, West Germany.
Pigment Cell Res. 1988;1(4):238-49. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0749.1988.tb00422.x.
The presence of melanin in the inner ear was established more than a century ago, but the exact biological function of the pigment in the labyrinth has yet to be determined. In this brief review, the correlation of pigmentation and inner ear function, as well as the presumed role of melanocytes in hereditary diseases are discussed. Special attention was drawn to the composition of melanin and its presumed function as a biological reservoir for divalent ions and as an ion exchanger, as well as an intracellular buffering system for calcium. It is pointed out that melanin is capable of binding ototoxic drugs. Finally, morphological responses of melanocytes to local disturbance of Ca++ homeostasis in the inner ear are described as 1) intracellular movement and intraepithelial deposition of melanosomes; 2) cell motility; 3) neomelanogenesis; and 4) enhanced exocytotoxic/endocytotic activity. The possible consequences of this malfunction of the melanocytes on the inner ear function are discussed.
内耳中黑色素的存在早在一个多世纪前就已被确认，但这种色素在迷路中的具体生物学功能尚未确定。在这篇简短的综述中，我们讨论了色素沉着与内耳功能的相关性，以及黑素细胞在遗传性疾病中的假定作用。特别关注了黑色素的组成及其作为二价离子的生物储存库、离子交换剂以及细胞内钙缓冲系统的假定功能。还指出黑色素能够结合耳毒性药物。最后，描述了黑素细胞对内耳Ca++稳态局部紊乱的形态学反应，包括：1）黑素小体的细胞内移动和上皮内沉积；2）细胞运动性；3）新黑色素生成；4）增强的胞吐/胞吞活性。并讨论了黑素细胞这种功能异常对内耳功能可能产生的后果。
