Adhesion forces measured at the level of a terminal plate of the fly's seta.

The attachment pads of fly legs are covered with setae, each ending in small terminal plates coated with secretory fluid. A cluster of these terminal plates contacting a substrate surface generates strong attractive forces that hold the insect on smooth surfaces. Previous research assumed that cohesive forces and molecular adhesion were involved in the fly attachment mechanism.

Interaction of PSD-95 with potassium channels visualized by fluorescence lifetime-based resonance energy transfer imaging.

Resonance energy transfer (RET) has been extensively used to estimate the distance between two different fluorophores. This study demonstrates how protein-protein interactions can be visualized and quantified in living cells by time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) imaging techniques that exploit the RET between appropriate fluorescent labels. We used this method to investigate the association of the potassium inward rectifier channel Kir2.

[Atomic force microscope (AFM). A nanomanipulator for biophysical studies of stereocilia of the cochlear hair cells].

Objectives: Studies of the mechanoelectrical sensor system of the hair cell bundle in the cochlea require a manipulation device that enables controlled force application and movement of individual stereocilia in the nanometer range.

Methods: In our atomic force microscope (AFM) setup, the scan is directly controlled in an upright differential interference contrast (DIC) infrared video microscope with a water immersion objective and in the measured AFM image. Here we present studies on hair cells of the mammalian cochlea.

Expression of Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel subunits and splice variants in the rat cochlea.

The recently manifested important role of the Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels, especially of the Slo gene-coded channels, for the cochlea function of the chicken raised the question of homolog expression in mammalian inner ear tissue. Molecular biological methods were used to demonstrate the expression of Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel subunits and splice variants of the Slo gene in the rat organ of Corti. RT-PCR experiments for the detection of rat Slo alpha subunit mRNA revealed the presence of several already known splice variants including variants which appeared to be typical for the organ of Corti (+58 aa) and for the brain (+61 aa).

Molecular and functional characterization of acid-sensing ion channel (ASIC) 1b.

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are activated by extracellular protons and are involved in neurotransmission in the central nervous system, in pain perception, as well as in mechanotransduction. Six different ASIC subunits have been cloned to date, which are encoded by four genes (ASIC1-ASIC4). Proton-gated currents have been described in isolated neurons from sensory ganglia as well as from central nervous system.