External Seminar: Corne Kros

Professor Corné Kros, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex

• http://www.sussex.ac.uk/lifesci/kroslab/

Title:  The hair-cell mechano-electrical transducer channel: found in translation?

Abstract:   Aminoglycoside antibiotics are widely used clinically to combat serious infections but cause hearing loss in a significant number of patients. As permeant blockers of the hair cell’s mechano-electrical transducer (MET) channels these drugs accumulate intracellularly and lead to apoptotic cell death. I will present results from a screen, using zebrafish and mouse cochlear cultures, to identify candidate otoprotective agents that compete for entry into hair cells via the same route, as confirmed by patch-clamp recordings of outer hair cell MET currents. At a more fundamental level, recording from outer hair cells showed that a point mutation in the Tmc1 gene (homologous to human DFNA36) reduces the affinity of the MET channel for aminoglycosides by an order of magnitude, strengthening the emerging evidence that TMC proteins are integral components of the MET channel.   

Thursday 16th June, 12-1pm

Ear Institute Lecture Theatre

UCL Ear Institute, 332 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8EE