Slow motility in hair cells of the frog amphibian papilla: Myosin light chain-mediated shape change

Using video, fluorescence and confocal microscopy, quantitative analysis and modeling, we investigated intracellular processes mediating the calcium/calmodulin (Ca2+/CaM)-dependent slow motility in hair cells dissociated from the rostral region of amphibian papilla, one of the two auditory organs in frogs. The time course of shape changes in these hair cells during the period of pretreatment with several specific inhibitors, as well as their response to the calcium ionophore, ionomycin, were recorded and compared. These cells respond to ionomycin with a tri-phasic shape change: an initial phase of iso-volumetric length decrease; a period of concurrent shortening and swelling; and the final phase of increase in both length and volume. We found that both the myosin light chain kinase inhibitor, ML-7, and antagonists of the multifunctional Ca2+/CaM-dependent kinases, KN-62 and KN-93, inhibit the iso-volumetric shortening phase of the response to ionomycin. The type 1 protein phosphatase inhibitors, calyculin A and okadaic acid induce minor shortening on their own, but do not significantly alter phase 1 response. However, they appear to counter effects of the inhibitors of Ca2+/CaM-dependent kinases. We hypothesize that an active actomyosin-based process mediates the iso-volumetric shortening in the frog rostral amphibian papillar hair cells.