Differences in hair bundles associated with type I and type II vestibular hair cells of the guinea pig saccule.

Several studies have reported variations in shape and size of stereociliary bundles and in a limited number of observations have associated them to type I and type II hair cells. A systematic study has been undertaken for which a technique was developed in order to identify both cell types and their corresponding hair bundles. Numerous fissures were obtained in saccular epithelia and observed in scanning electron microscopy. Saccular type I and type II hair cells in the guinea pig were found to have distinctive hair bundles. The tallest stereocilia of almost all type I cells were longer than 6 microns, and were shorter in the striola compared to the periphery. In contrast, the tallest stereocilia of almost all type II cells were shorter than 6 microns and were not found to vary notably in size from the striola to the periphery. Hair bundles with stereocilia organized in straight or in staggered rows were found for both types of cells across the whole saccular epithelium, with no apparent particular distribution. Possible physiological significance of differences in hair bundles is discussed.