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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Dec 1.
Published in final edited form as: Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2008 Jul 25;19(6):502–510. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2008.07.006

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Cartoon diagram of two neighboring stereocilia. Actin filaments and crosslinkers are continuously assembling at the tips and disassembling at the bases at closely matched rates, resulting in an overall treadmilling core. Note that actin monomers at the tips of stereocilia may be recycled monomers from the depolymerizing filaments at the stereocilia base, from the cytoplasm, or some combination of both. Also note that the shorter stereocilium has graded lengths of F-actin that tightly match the membrane profile, which is tented due to tip-link tension. Adjacent to the tip link is the putative mechanotransduction channel, which is indicated along with hypothetical cytoplasmic links that connect to the actin core. Myosins XVa and IIIa both localize at the stereocilia tip, but myosin XVa localizes to the extreme tip region, while myosin IIIa extends further down the stereocilia shaft. Myosin VI localizes to the base, suggesting a possible role in regulating the minus-ends of actin filaments. Myosins VIIa and Ic localize along the shaft of the stereocilia, implicating a possible role in regulating the retrograde flow of the stereocilia core. Myosins VIIa and Ic also interact with interstereociliary links, which tether neighboring stereocilia actin cores.