1990 Volume 49 Issue Suppl-6 Pages 47-51
Inner car hair cells of the guinea pig were isolated mechanically and enzymatically, and their motility and the presence of F-actin in the cytoplasm were investigated.
1. Inner hair cells and vestibular hair cells tended to lose their cell body shape during the isolating procedure more than did outer hair cells.
2. In outer hair cells F-actin was demonstrated as the infracuticular network (ICN), indicating that ICN is one expression of the presence of F-actin.
3. Further studies by other methods are needed to determine whether inner hair cells have F-actin in their cytoplasm.
4. The existence of ICN in the vestibular hair cells shows that F-actin is present in the cytoplasm and suggests that they have motility.
