Abstract Details
| Presented By: | Frerck, Micah |
| Affiliated with: | University of Utah, Bioengineering |
| Authors: | Micah Frerck, Melany Moras, Massood Tabib-Azar, Richard Rabbitt |
| From: | University of Utah |
Title
Abstract
The proposed research will establish whether the conformational transition of prestin, the motor protein in outer hair cells of the cochlea, is responsible for both charge transfer and changes in membrane area. Debate has been put forth suggesting that the nonlinear capacitance measured in prestin transfected cells is the result of anion transport and that prestin may not be directly involved in changing the membrane surface area. The electromechanical properties of prestin will be investigated using a new atomic force scanning technique based on piezoresponse. HEK-293 cells transfected with prestin will be influenced by an external electrical field, either whole cell or localized to the cantilever tip, and the electromechanical response of the motor protein will be measured via the deflection of the atomic force cantilever. Successful implementation of piezoresponse atomic force microscopy may enable future work to definitively identify transmembrane prestin in topography scans, measure the conformational force elicited by prestin, conclude the frequency response of prestin, investigate the conformational transition geometry, and may lead to future work revealing the conformational geometry of ion channels and transporters.