Mason K, Peale F V, Stone J S, Rubel E W, Bothwell M
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
Hear Res. 1998 Nov;125(1-2):120-30. doi: 10.1016/s0378-5955(98)00141-5.
Ionic currents are critical for the functioning of the inner ear auditory sensory epithelium. We set out to identify and molecularly clone the genes encoding the channels responsible for several currents in the chick basilar papilla. Here we describe an inward-rectifying K+ channel, cKir2.3, present in both hair cells and support cells in the apical end of the chick basilar papilla. The biophysical properties of the human ortholog, hKir2.3, are similar to those of an inward-rectifying channel found in the apical end of the chick basilar papilla, suggesting that this channel may contribute to the corresponding current. Additionally, we describe two new members of the Kv6 subfamily of putative regulatory voltage-gated K channels, cKv6.2 and cKv6.3. Both are expressed in hair cells in the apical end of the chick basilar papilla; cKv6.2 is also strongly expressed in support cells and in the brain.
离子电流对于内耳听觉感觉上皮的功能至关重要。我们着手鉴定并分子克隆编码负责雏鸡基底乳头中几种电流的通道的基因。在此，我们描述了一种内向整流钾通道cKir2.3，它存在于雏鸡基底乳头顶端的毛细胞和支持细胞中。人同源物hKir2.3的生物物理特性与在雏鸡基底乳头顶端发现的内向整流通道相似，这表明该通道可能对相应电流有贡献。此外，我们描述了假定的调节性电压门控钾通道Kv6亚家族的两个新成员cKv6.2和cKv6.3。它们都在雏鸡基底乳头顶端的毛细胞中表达；cKv6.2在支持细胞和大脑中也有强烈表达。
