Hearing forms the basis of one of the primary human senses. The mechanical transduction channels that convert mechanical signals of sound into electrical signals are located within hair cell bundles of cochlear hair cells.

In addition to the five senses defined by Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, the receptor-encoding genes for smell, taste, and sight have been identified one after another. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2004 was awarded to two American scientists for their discoveries of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system.

The 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for identifying PIEZO ion channels as proteins that sense ubiquitous stimuli.

However, the ion channel for auditory transduction has not been identified, remaining an unsolved mystery in sensory neurobiology. In recent years, there has been some evidence that transmembrane channel-like proteins are essential for auditory transduction. This session will focus on the key ion channels and mechanisms of auditory acoustoelectric transduction.

Chairmen

Yan Zhiqiang

Research fellow, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory

Ye Fanglei

Professor, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University

Invited speakers & reports

Tang Yiquan

Research fellow, Fudan University

Report: Molecular mechanisms of membrane transport on TMC mechanotransduction channels

Xu Zhigang

Professor, Shandong University

Report: FCHSD2 is required for stereocilia maintenance and hearing

Lu Yu

Attending physician, West China Hospital of Sichuan University

Title: Study of hearing gene function and molecular mechanisms based on deafness gene variation data

Ye Fanglei

Professor, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University

Report: Physiological basis in hearing of cochlear implantation

Yan Zhiqiang

Research fellow, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory

Report: TMC1 and TMC2 proteins are pore-forming subunits of mechanosensitive ion channels

He Zuhong

Associate research fellow, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University

Report: Study on the mechanism of nuclear transcription factor FoxG1 in the occurrence and development of presbycusis

Kang Lijun

Professor, Zhejiang University

Report: TBD