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Immunolocalization of voltage-gated calcium channel α1 subunits in the chinchilla cochlea

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Abstract

The immunohistochemical localization of α1A, α1B, α1C, α1D, and α1E voltage-gated calcium channel subunits was investigated in the chinchilla organ of Corti and spiral ganglia with the use of specific antipeptide antibodies. The inner and outer hair cells were immunoreactive for α1A and α1D subunit antibodies. α1C immunoreactivity localized to the nerve terminals innervating inner hair cells and the basal pole of the outer hair cell. There was only non-specific staining to α1B and α1E. Supporting cells were non-immunoreactive. Spiral ganglia neurons were α1B, α1C, and α1D immunoreactive. A few spiral ganglia neurons were α1E immunoreactive. The importance of α1D, the pore-forming subunit of the L-type channel, in outer and inner hair cell function has been clearly demonstrated in electrophysiological, molecular biological, and knockout models. The presence of α1A, the pore-forming subunit of the P/Q type channels, has not previously been demonstrated in inner and outer hair cells, and its function in the cochlear hair cell is unknown.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Richard Altschuler from the Kresge Hearing Research Institute, Ann Arbor Michigan, for his assistance in the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Division of Head and Neck, 31-25 Rehabilitation Center, UCLA School of Medicine, 1000 Veteran Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

    Ivan Lopez, Dora Acuna & Akira Ishiyama

  2. Neurology Department, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Gail Ishiyama & Robert W. Baloh

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  1. Ivan Lopez
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  2. Gail Ishiyama
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  4. Akira Ishiyama
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Correspondence to Ivan Lopez.

Additional information

The National Institutes of Health grants AG09693-10, DC005224, 00140-02, and DC05187-01 supported this work.

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Lopez, I., Ishiyama, G., Acuna, D. et al. Immunolocalization of voltage-gated calcium channel α1 subunits in the chinchilla cochlea. Cell Tissue Res 313, 177–186 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-003-0759-4

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