The inner ear interprets sound via tip links that open up ion channels.
Image credit: Gregory I. Frolenkov.
This two-step process also occurred when mouse’s hair cells initially developed.
“This study resolves a dispute over the composition of tip links, in which one camp argued for a PCDH15-only structure, and the other for a combination of the two proteins. Apparently, both are right, depending on when one looks. More importantly, it reveals the details of a process that is likely to be vital for the development, maintenance, and restoration of normal hearing.”