Forces involved in length changes of cochlear outer hair cells.

Motion or force generation of outer hair cells may contribute to active modulation of cochlear mechanics. In order to determine the force involved in length changes of outer hair cells, a new in vitro method was used. In the first series of experiments, apical and basolateral extracellular spaces of outer hair cells of the guinea-pig cochlea were separated. Changes of the voltage between the two extracellular spaces induced reversible, proportional changes of the cell length of 4.4 nm/mV if the cell had a length of 80 microns. In the second series of experiments, cell elongations in response to negative pressure applied to the basal end of the cells were measured and corrected for frictional effects. From these data, the compliance of the longitudinal axis of the hair cells was calculated. It was 220 +/- 130 m/N (n = 25) and 240 +/- 170 m/N (n = 24) for cells of the third and fourth cochlear turns, respectively, if the water permeability of the cell membrane was neglected. If the water permeability was taken into account, the compliance was probably around 500 m/N [corrected]. Thus, a mechanism that changes the cell length by 1 microm must generate a static force of at least around 2 nN in an outer hair cell of the organ of Corti [corrected]. Electromotility of outer hair cells, induced by changes of the electrical potential difference across the outer hair cell, is a mechanism that generates this force.