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Updated: Aug 26, 2025

An Isolated Semi-intact Preparation of the Mouse Vestibular Sensory Epithelium for Electrophysiology and High-resolution Two-photon Microscopy
Published on: June 13, 2013
Structural and functional diversity of mitochondria in vestibular/cochlear hair cells and vestibular calyx afferents
Anna Lysakowski1, Aravind Chenrayan Govindaraju2, Robert M Raphael3
1Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 808 S. Wood St., M/C 512, Chicago, IL 60605, USA.
Abstract:
Mitochondria supply energy in the form of ATP to drive a plethora of cellular processes. In heart and liver cells, mitochondria occupy over 20% of the cellular volume and the major need for ATP is easily identifiable - i.e., to drive cross-bridge recycling in cardiac cells or biosynthetic machinery in liver cells. In vestibular and cochlear hair cells the overall cellular mitochondrial volume is much less, and mitochondria structure varies dramatically in different regions of the cell. The regional demands for ATP and cellular forces that govern mitochondrial structure and localization are not well understood. Below we review our current understanding of the heterogeneity of form and function in hair cell mitochondria. A particular focus of this review will be on regional specialization in vestibular hair cells, where large mitochondria are found beneath the cuticular plate in close association with the striated organelle. Recent findings on the role of mitochondria in hair cell death and aging are covered along with potential therapeutic approaches. Potential avenues for future research are discussed, including the need for integrated computational modeling of mitochondrial function in hair cells and the vestibular afferent calyx.
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Hair Cells
Equilibrium and Balance
The Cochlea
The Vestibular System
Anatomy of the Ear
Mitochondrial Membranes

