Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Strong Roots

A protein called spectrin is essential for hearing

19 May 2019

Strong Roots

We hear sounds thanks to specialist hair cells in our inner ear: vibrations bend microscopic hair-like stereocilia attached to these cells, triggering chemical changes and ultimately producing electrical signals, forwarded to the brain. Stereocilia are anchored to hair cells by rootlets, structures that support them so they can bend repeatedly without breaking. Using sophisticated imaging techniques, scientists recently identified an essential protein, known as spectrin, which encircles the rootlets, providing strength and flexibility. Without spectrin in their inner hair cells, mice have seriously impaired hearing. At the cellular level (pictured, in healthy inner hair cells above, and ones lacking spectrin below), the organisation of other crucial proteins is disrupted, including actin (in blue), of which stereocilia are made, and taperin (in purple). Mice with poor hearing due to ageing or sound damage also display depleted spectrin rings, suggesting that this protein is involved in many forms of hearing loss.

Written by Emmanuelle Briolat

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.