Myosin XVA isoforms participate in the mechanotransduction-dependent remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton in auditory stereocilia.

Auditory hair cells form precise and sensitive staircase-like actin protrusions known as stereocilia. These specialized microvilli detect deflections induced by sound through the activation of mechano-electrical transduction (MET) channels located at their tips. At rest, a small MET channel current results in a constant calcium influx, which regulates the morphology of the actin cytoskeleton in the shorter 'transducing' stereocilia.