vision and other receptor work have been determined, but auditory work has not been completed until recently. Scientists have spent years and tens of millions of worms figuring out the structure of the TMS-1 protein, which senses acoustic vibrations.
Sound waves cause eardrum to vibrate before we hear the sound. Through several tiny bones, these movements are transmitted to the liquid-filled structure of the inner ear. Hair cells sense fluid vibrations, which stimulate neurons and trigger signal transmission through the nervous system. hair cells can be called a key part of the entire scheme: they act as receptors for the auditory system. But if the work of vision and other receptors is studied to the molecular level, it remains a mystery for hearing.
transmembrane channel-like proteins (TMCs) play a key role in hair cell work: they capture mechanical vibrations and trigger the occurrence of electrical signals in nervous system . Recently, scientists from , Oregon University of Health and Science, , managed to determine the molecular structure of the TMC1 protein to the nearest atoms. Eric Gouaux and colleagues' articles were published in the magazine "Natural "
The molecular mechanism of this system is highly conserved and almost the same in different animals. Therefore, in order to obtain the TMC1 protein, biologists used Carean elegans . It took more than five years for the scientists to isolate the mass of protein needed for their work, during which time they grew and used about 60 million nematode . Pure protein preparations were examined using a cryo electron microscope to elucidate the molecular structure of TMS-1. The molecular structure of
TMS-1 is determined at a resolution of up to 3.1 angstroms.
TMS-1 is a transmembrane protein that can penetrate cell membrane . It is a dimer composed of a pair of identical blocks. Each dimer includes a key TMS-1 domain that forms pores on the membrane, and a CALM-1 calcium-binding domain associated with intracellular TMS-1. Finally, a small TMIE domain is linked to the peripheral molecules—accordially, according to the authors, “similar to an accordion handle.” Mechanical deformation of the cell membrane puts the entire system into operation, causing calcium ions to flow into the cells. This causes it to release neurotransmitters and stimulate the activity of auditory neurons.
" Neuroscience has been waiting for these results for decades," said Peter Barr Gillespie , a well-known researcher in the listening mechanism. Now that we know how perception of sound is arranged at the molecular level, scientists and doctors have opened up new prospects in the treatment of congenital and acquired deafness.
