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How Many States Can the Motor Molecule, Prestin, Assume in an Electric Field?

Section of Physiological Acoustics and Communication, Department of Otolaryngology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany

Correspondence: Address reprint requests and inquiries to A. W. Gummer, Tel.: 49-7071-29-88191; Fax: 49-7071-29-4174; E-mail: anthony.gummer{at}uni-tuebingen.de.

By using an analogy between the magnetization of a paramagnetic material in an external magnetic field and the electric polarization of the lateral wall of outer hair cells in response to the transmembrane potential, we show that, based on experimental data on the charge transfer across the membrane, it is impossible to make a statement about the number of possible conformational states of the motor molecule, prestin. Although the choice of model affects the values of derived parameters, such as total charge and motor charge, this is frequently overlooked in the literature.

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