Anion exchanger 1b in stereocilia is required for the functioning of mechanotransducer channels in lateral-line hair cells of zebrafish

Yuan-Hsiang Lin; Giun-Yi Hung; Liang-Chun Wu; Sheng-Wen Chen; Li-Yih Lin; Jiun-Lin Horng

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0117041

Anion exchanger 1b in stereocilia is required for the functioning of mechanotransducer channels in lateral-line hair cells of zebrafish

PLoS One. 2015 Feb 13;10(2):e0117041. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117041. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Yuan-Hsiang Lin¹, Giun-Yi Hung², Liang-Chun Wu³, Sheng-Wen Chen⁴, Li-Yih Lin³, Jiun-Lin Horng⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
² Department of Pediatrics, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
³ Department of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
⁴ Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.

Abstract

The anion exchanger (AE) plays critical roles in physiological processes including CO2 transport and volume regulation in erythrocytes and acid-base regulation in renal tubules. Although expression of the AE in inner-ear hair cells was reported, its specific localization and function are still unclear. Using in situ hybridization, we found that the AE1b transcript is expressed in lateral-line hair cells of zebrafish larvae. An immunohistochemical analysis with a zebrafish-specific antibody localized AE1b to stereocilia of hair cells, and the expression was eliminated by morpholino knockdown of AE1b. A non-invasive, scanning ion-selective electrode technique was applied to analyze mechanotransducer (MET) channel-mediated Ca2+ influx at stereocilia of hair cells of intact fish. Ca2+ influx was effectively suppressed by AE1b morpholino knockdown and inhibitor (DIDS) treatment. Elevating external Ca2+ (0.2 to 2 mM) neutralized the inhibition of DIDS. Taken together, this study provides solid evidence to show that AE1b in stereocilia is required for the proper functioning of MET channels.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Anion Exchange Protein 1, Erythrocyte / genetics
Anion Exchange Protein 1, Erythrocyte / metabolism*
Calcium / metabolism
Gene Knockdown Techniques
Mechanoreceptors / metabolism*
Mechanotransduction, Cellular*
Protein Transport
Stereocilia / metabolism*
Zebrafish / physiology*

Substances

Anion Exchange Protein 1, Erythrocyte
Calcium

Grants and funding

This study was supported by Taipei Medical University -National Taiwan University of Science and Technology Joint Research Program (TMU-NTUST-101-04) and grants to J. L. Horng and L. Y. Lin (101-2311-b-003-004-my3) from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.