Micropipette aspiration was used to study the lateral wall stiffness of iso
lated guinea pig outer hair cells (OHCs) perfused with a sodium salicylate
solution. Salicylate treatment significantly decreased lateral wall stiffne
ss as measured by a stiffness parameter (S) compared to cells perfused with
a standard bathing solution (S= 0.68 +/- 0.26 vs. S= 1.09 +/- 0.25, P < 0.
05). The effect was reversible cells treated with salicylate and then with
bathing solution exhibited a lateral wall stiffness similar to control cell
s (S= 1.10 +/- 0.40, P=0.94). Salicylate perfusion diminishes electromotile
responses in isolated OHCs and physiologic doses of salicylate produce hea
ring loss and tinnitus in human subjects. The OHC lateral wall, the locus o
f electromotility, consists of three concentric layers: (1) an outermost pl
asma membrane, (2) a cytoskeletal network of actin and spectrin called the
cortical lattice and (3) an innermost collection of flattened membranes cal
led the subsurface cisternae (SSC). Ultrastructural studies have shown that
salicylate treatment dilates and vesiculates the lateral wall subsurface c
isternae (SSC) in guinea pig OHCs. In addition, salicylate causes an outwar
d curvature of plasma membranes in human erythrocytes. The reversible, sali
cylate induced increase in lateral wall compliance may result from a direct
action on the SSC and/or the plasma membrane. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.
V. All rights reserved.