Waltzing around cofactors

Dissociation between the calcium-induced and voltage-driven motility in cochlear outer hair cells from the waltzing guinea pig.

The waltzing guinea pig, possessing an hereditary progressive deafness, shows pathology to the actin-bearing structures within the hair cells of the organ of Corti. In particular, the affected structures include the stereocilia, the cuticular plate and, as shown in the present study, swollen and disorganized subsurface cisternae. To test whether this pathology affected outer hair cell motility,...

Waltzing Matilda: A Semiotic Reading of Wik

Hereditary susceptibility to inner ear stress agents studied in heterozygotes of the German waltzing guinea pig

Mechanism-Based Studies of the Active Site-Directed Inhibition and Activation of Enzyme Transketolase

Derivatives of phenyl-keto butenoic acids have been reported to be inhibitors of pyruvate decarboxylase, (PDC). The inhibition of transketolase, a thiamine requiring enzyme such as PDF, by meta nitrophenyl derivative of 2-oxo-3-butenoic acid (MNPB) is reported here. These studies indicate that the inhibitor binds to the enzyme at the active site. A two-step inhibition was observed, first th...

Characterization of Cochlear Degeneration in the Inner Ear of the German Waltzing Guinea Pig: a Morphological, Cellular, and Molecular Study

The German waltzing guinea pig is a new strain of animals with yet unknown gene mutation(s) displaying recessively inherited cochleovestibular impairment. The homozygous animals (gw/gw) are deaf already at birth and display typical waltzing behavior throughout life. The heterozygous animals (gw/+) do not suffer from hearing loss and vestibular symptoms. The present thesis is focused on the homo...