Return of Potassium Ion Channels in Regenerated Hair Cells

A bstract : Recent electrophysiological studies in pigeon have demonstrated that potassium channels are completely functional in regenerated type II hair cells at 21 days post‐treatment (PT) with ototoxic doses of streptomycin. The currents return in the order they appear during development. The mixture of ionic currents in a regenerated type II hair cell in a particular region of the neuroepithelium is the same as in its ancestor in that region. The return of currents in regenerated type I hair cells is more complicated. The dominant conductance g KI is not present until after 70 days PT. Before 70 days, the ionic currents in type I hair cells resemble those of regenerated type II hair cells, suggesting that the ionic currents in type II hair cells might be precursors of the ionic currents in regenerated type I hair cells. New data show that at one year PT, the kinetics and drug sensitivity of the dominant K + conductance in type I hair cells are identical to g KI . Supporting cells, believed to be the precursors of regenerated type II hair cells, have effectively no voltage‐gated outward potassium channels, suggesting that regenerated type II hair cells must develop these channels de novo . The next step is to understand the mechanisms by which the potassium channel protein is synthesized, migrates through the cytosol, and is inserted into the plasmalemma of regenerating hair cells. These mechanisms are unknown. We propose that intracellular calcium is involved in this process, as well as in the differentiation, proliferation, and gene regulation of precursor cells fated to become hair cells.