Immunolocalization of voltage-gated potassium channel Kv3.1b subunit in the cochlea

Immunohistochemical localization of voltage-gated potassium channel Kv3.1b subunit was studied in the cochlea. Intense Kv3.1b-like immunoreactivity wa s present in the type I, type III, type IV and suprastrial fibrocytes of th e cochlear lateral wall. Immunostaining was also found in the interdental c ells and the fibrocytes of the spiral limbus and in the supralimbal dark ce lls. K+ ions, which play a pivotal role in the mechanosensory transduction process in the inner ear, are recycled via gap junctional networks in the c ochlea. These results suggest that the voltage-gated potassium channel, con taining Kv3.1b, in the cochlear lateral wall fibrocytes may control the int racellular potential and play an important role in regulating the potassium ion recycling mechanism via gap junctions in the inner car. NeuroReport 12 :2761-2765 (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.