Gene therapy focuses on genetic modification to produce therapeutic effects or treat
diseases by repairing or reconstructing genetic material, thus being expected to be the most …

Adaptation is an essential feature of auditory neurons, which reduces their responses to
unchanging and recurring sounds and allows their response properties to be matched to the …

Organisms of all phyla express mechanosensitive ion channels with a wide range of
physiological functions. In recent years, several classes of mechanically gated ion channels …

Noise accounts for one-third of hearing loss worldwide. Regretfully, noise-induced hearing
loss (NIHL) is deemed to be irreversible due to the elusive pathogenic mechanisms that …

GFI1 is a zinc finger transcription factor that is necessary for the differentiation and survival of
hair cells in the cochlea. Deletion of Gfi1 in mice significantly reduces the expression of …

Filopodia, microvilli and stereocilia represent an important group of plasma membrane
protrusions. These specialized projections are supported by parallel bundles of actin …

Ciliated sensory cells such as photo-and olfactory receptors employ multiple types of opsins
or hundreds of unique olfactory G-protein coupled receptors to respond to various …

Acquisition of cell polarity generates signaling and cytoskeletal asymmetry and thus
underpins polarized cell behaviors during tissue morphogenesis. In epithelial tissues, both …

Striatin-interacting protein 1 (Strip1) is a core component of the striatin interacting
phosphatase and kinase (STRIPAK) complex, which is involved in embryogenesis and …

The mammalian hearing organ, the cochlea, contains an active amplifier to boost the
vibrational response to low level sounds. Hallmarks of this active process are sharp location …