Hair Cells Regeneration Research Shows There Might Be a Cure for Hearing Loss

Researchers from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital successfully regenerated auditory hair cells in adult mice, raising hope for a future hearing loss treatment. (Cell Reports. 2017;19[2]:307.) Auditory hair cells regenerate in fish and chicken but not humans, and that's where Jian Zuo,PhD, of St. Jude's department of developmental neurobiology and his team looked for answers. "The process involves down-regulating expression of the protein p27 and up-regulating the expression of the protein ATOH 1," Zuo said. "So we tried the same approach in specially bred adult mice." By manipulating these genes, Zuo and his colleagues induced supporting cells in the inner ear of adult mice to take on the appearance of immature hair cells and begin producing some of the signature proteins of hair cells.

They also identified the genetic pathway for hair cell regeneration and how proteins in that pathway, including GATA3, POUAF3, p27, and ATOH1, cooperate to foster the process. ATOH1 is a transcription factor necessary for hair cell development, but this gene is switched off in humans before birth. Zuo said, "This study suggests that targeting p27, GATA3, and POU4F3 may enhance the outcome of gene therapy and other approaches that aim to restart ATOH1 expression. Work will continue to identify other factors, including small molecules, necessary to promote the maturation and survival of the newly generated hair cells as well as increase their number, according to Zuo. 

Published: 4/14/2017 11:04:00 AM

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