MBExC Lecture

Jung-Bum Shin, Ph.D. from the Department of Neuroscience, The University of Virginia School of Medicine, USA will give a talk about “The Sensitivity of Auditory Sense and How We Maintain It” during the MBExC Lecture on November 9th, 2023 at 11:00 am at the small lecture hall (behind the library) at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Hermann-Rein-Str. 3.

Abstract:

Repair of the stereocilia actin core
Given that mammalian hair cells do not regenerate, the repair of hair cell damage is important for continued auditory function throughout life. One part of our research focuses on the repair of the F-actin-based stereocilia cores, which can be damaged by loud noise. Currently we are working to determine the mechanism by which the LIM domain protein XIRP2 is involved in stereocilia repair.
Myosin-VIIA (Myo7a) in tip link tension
Mutations in myosin-VIIa (MYO7A) cause Usher syndrome type 1, characterized by combined deafness and blindness. MYO7A is proposed to function as a motor that tensions the hair cell mechanotransduction (MET) complex, but conclusive evidence was lacking. Our studies reveal an unexpected isoform diversity of MYO7A expression in the cochlea and highlight MYO7A’s essential role in tensioning the hair cell MET complex. We are investigating the presence and functional relevance of other isoforms of MYO7A in hair cells. We are also interested in identifying the cis- and trans-factor that regulate the cell-type specific expression of the various MYO7A isoforms.

Host: Prof. Dr. Tina Pangršič, University Medical Center Göttingen

Please find the pdf of the poster here: