Developmental defects of the ear, cranial nerves and hindbrain resulting from targeted disruption of the mouse homeobox gene Hox-1.6.

Gene targeting in mouse embryo-derived stem cells has been used to generate mice with a disruption in the homeobox gene Hox-1.6. Mice heterozygous at the Hox-1.6 locus appear normal, whereas Hox-1.6-/Hox-1.6- mice die at or shortly after birth. These homozygotes exhibit profound defects in the formation of the external, middle and inner ears as well as in specific hindbrain nuclei, and in cranial nerves and ganglia. The affected tissues lie within a narrow region along the anteroposterior axis of the mouse but are of diverse embryonic origin. The set of defects associated with the disruption of Hox-1.6 is distinct from and nonoverlapping with that of the closely linked Hox-1.5 gene. But both mutations cause loss, rather than homeotic transformation, of tissues and structures.     

Mechanosensitivity of mammalian auditory hair cells in vitro

Intracellular responses recorded in vitro from the cochleas of anaesthetized mammals have shown that the mechanoreceptive inner and outer hair cells are sharply tuned, accounting for many of the properties of the afferent fibres in the auditory nerve. However, in vivo it has not been possible to measure directly the excitatory mechanical input to these cells (the displacement of their mechanosensitive stereocilia) and thus to determine the relationship between the receptor potentials and displacement of their stereocilia. As a means of circumventing this technical difficulty, we have developed an organ culture of the mouse cochlea and here we describe the receptor potentials generated by the hair cells in response to direct displacement of their stereocilia.     

Diabetes in transgenic mice resulting from over-expression of class I histocompatibility molecules in pancreatic beta cells

A class I histocompatibility gene, H-2Kb, linked to the rat insulin promoter, is overexpressed in the pancreatic beta cells of transgenic mice. The mice, whether syngeneic or allogeneic to the transgene, develop insulin dependent diabetes without detectable T cell infiltration, suggesting a direct, non-immune role for the transgenic class I molecules in the disease process.     

古术新知——从耳迷走神经刺激术谈中医发展的新思路

 中西医整合发展态势愈加明确，多学科交叉融合趋势引领医学向更深层次、更高水平发展。针灸是中医学的重要组成部分，作为中医学的先导学科，针灸器具和技术的改革创新将成为促进中医针灸现代化的关键。从耳迷走神经刺激仪的研发看整合针灸医学的发展趋势，“古术新知”的核心就是用现代科技知识推动中医药的发展。     

耳蜗毛细胞换能的生物物理特性

耳蜗的声感受是通过将大气压的微小波动转换成沿听神经传导的AP而实现的，HC在这-机-电换能过程中起关键作用。近二十年来，HC换能的生物物理特性研究取得许多重要突破，已在诸多方面从根本上改变了人们对听觉机制的传统认识。本文从HC换能模型、IHC与OHC的功能差异以及耳蜗声分析主动机制等三方面对这一领域进行了讨论与展望。     

两种经皮神经电刺激仪治疗效果比较

目的 :比较两种波形经皮神经电刺激 (TENS)仪的治疗效果。方法 :采用双向对称性调制方波的SLT - 1型TENS治疗仪及单向串脉冲方波的NS -B型TENS治疗仪分别治疗四肢关节软组织损伤各 6 3、6 4例并比较疗效。结果 :SLT - 1型TENS组及NS -B型TENS组的痊愈显效率及有效率分别为 95.2 %、10 0 %及 84 .3%、98.4 % ,前者痊愈显效率明显大于后者 (χ2 =4 .0 774 ,P <0 0 5)。结论 :双向对称性调制方波比单向串脉冲方波具有更好的消肿镇痛作用。     

Outer hair cells in the mammalian cochlea and noise-induced hearing loss

Hair cells in the mammalian cochlea transduce mechanical stimuli into electrical signals leading to excitation of auditory nerve fibres. Because of their important role in hearing, these cells are a possible site for the loss of cochlear sensitivity that follows acoustic overstimulation. We have recorded from inner and outer hair cells (IHC, OHC) in the guinea pig cochlea during and after exposure to intense tones. Our results show functional changes in the hair cells that may explain the origin of noise-induced hearing loss. Both populations of hair cells show a reduction in amplitude and an increase in the symmetry of their acoustically evoked receptor potentials. In addition, the OHCs also suffer a sustained depolarization of the membrane potential. Significantly, the membrane and receptor potentials of the OHCs recover in parallel with cochlear sensitivity as measured by the IHC receptor potential amplitude and the auditory nerve threshold. Current theories of acoustic transduction suggest that the mechanical input to IHCs may be regulated by the OHCs. Consequently, the modified function of OHCs after acoustic overstimulation may determine the extent of the hearing loss following loud sound.     

Prestin is the motor protein of cochlear outer hair cells

The outer and inner hair cells of the mammalian cochlea perform different functions. In response to changes in membrane potential, the cylindrical outer hair cell rapidly alters its length and stiffness. These mechanical changes, driven by putative molecular motors, are assumed to produce amplification of vibrations in the cochlea that are transduced by inner hair cells. Here we have identified an abundant complementary DNA from a gene, designated Prestin, which is specifically expressed in outer hair cells. Regions of the encoded protein show moderate sequence similarity to pendrin and related sulphate/anion transport proteins. Voltage-induced shape changes can be elicited in cultured human kidney cells that express prestin. The mechanical response of outer hair cells to voltage change is accompanied by a 'gating current', which is manifested as nonlinear capacitance. We also demonstrate this nonlinear capacitance in transfected kidney cells. We conclude that prestin is the motor protein of the cochlear outer hair cell.     

Nature of the motor element in electrokinetic shape changes of cochlear outer hair cells

It is the prevailing notion that cochlear outer hair cells function as mechanical effectors as well as sensory receptors. Electrically induced changes in the shape of mammalian outer hair cells, studied in vitro, are commonly assumed to represent an aspect of their effector process that may occur in vivo. The nature of the motile process is obscure, even though none of the established cellular motors can be involved. Although it is known that the motile response is under voltage control, it is uncertain whether the stimulus is a drop in the voltage along the long axis of the cell or variation in the transmembrane potential. We have now performed experiments with cells partitioned in differing degrees between two chambers. Applied voltage stimulates the cell membrane segments in opposite polarity to an amount dependent on the partitioning. The findings show, in accordance with previous suggestions, that the driving stimulus is a local transmembrane voltage drop and that the cellular motor consists of many independent elements, distributed along the cell membrane and its associated cortical structures. We further show that the primary action of the motor elements is along the longitudinal dimension of the cell without necessarily involving changes in intracellular hydrostatic pressure. This establishes the outer hair cell motor as unique among mechanisms that control cell shape.     

电刺激腹中隔区对IL—1β作用下兔POAH温敏神经元放电特性的影响

目的：进一步探讨中枢解热机理,方法：采用微电极细胞外记录,观察在致热原IL－1β作用下电刺激兔腹中隔区（VSA）对视前区下丘脑前部（POAH）温度敏感神经元放电特性的影响,结果：（1）IL－1β使热敏神经元放电频率减少时,电刺激腹中隔区可明显降低POAH热敏神经元的温度敏感系数,（2）IL－1β使冷敏神经元放电频率增加时,电刺激腹中隔区可增加POAH冷敏神经元的温度敏感系数。结论：作为负调节中枢的VSA可通过影响致热原作用下POAH区温敏神经元放电特性而解热。