Advanced microscopy helps NIDCD pinpoint key proteins for hearing and balance
Using powerful microscopy techniques, a research team led by scientists at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has pinpointed in mice the precise cellular location of two proteins known to be important for hearing and balance. The discovery provides additional evidence that the proteins, TMC1 and TMC2, are part of the channel complex that is essential for the inner ear to process sound and the signals that are key to balance.
The study appeared in the September 8 edition of Cell Reports, and was co-led by Bechara Kachar, M.D., chief of the NIDCD's Laboratory of Cell Structure and Dynamics, and NIDCD Scientific Director Andrew J. Griffith, M.D., Ph.D. The findings expand knowledge of the structure of the channel, enable scientists to further explore the mechanisms by which it functions, and may lead to new insights into certain hearing and balance disorders.
This page was last updated on Friday, January 21, 2022