Binding sites of an aminoglycoside in the cochlea examined by immunocytochemistry.

To localize the binding sites of aminoglycosides in the cochlea, immunocytochemistry was used with the antibody to gentamicin and the protein-A/gold complex. We found that the main binding sites were the stereocilia, the cuticular plates of hair cells, the head plates of Deiters' cells, cell filaments and the cones of pillar cells, tectorial membranes, basilar membranes, the matrix of the spiral limbus, plasma membranes, mitochondria, and the chromatin of various kinds of cells. Triphosphoinositide and acidic glycosaminoglycans are the two most likely candidates for the cause of binding activity.