Hearing Health Blog
We have artificially expressed three key hair cell fate promoting proteins in nonsensory cells of adult mice, and found that a significant number of these cells will convert into cells resembling hair cells. This offers a potential strategy for hair cell regeneration.
Two months after treatment, we saw that some GAPS-treated guinea pigs had a statistically significant increase in new hair cell-like cells compared with controls. Future steps will be to investigate the origin as well as the function of these hair cell-like cells.
In the non-sensory supporting cells of the inner ear, key genes required for conversion to sensory cells are shut off through a process known as epigenetic silencing. By studying how the genes are shut off, we begin to understand how we might turn them back on to regenerate hearing.
The research suggests that reprogramming with multiple transcription factors is better able to access the hair cell differentiation gene regulatory network, but that additional interventions may be necessary to produce mature and fully functional hair cells.
Scientists from the laboratory of Neil Segil, Ph.D., have identified a natural barrier to the regeneration of the inner ear’s sensory cells, which are lost in hearing and balance disorders. Overcoming this barrier may be a first step in returning inner ear cells to a newborn-like state that’s primed for regeneration
Due to the lack of spontaneous regeneration, the hearing loss caused by hair cell loss is permanent. One way to envision future biological/medical repair of the hair cell-depleted inner ear is to medically induce the generation of new hair cells.
Hearing loss occurs when sensory hair cells of the inner ear (cochlea) are damaged or die. The goal of the Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) is to develop therapeutic methods to convert the cells that remain after damage into new, completely functional sensory hair cells, restoring hearing. We know that in most species—but not mammals, like humans and mice—hair cells robustly regenerate on their own after damage to the auditory system.
It turns out that to hear a person yapping, you need a protein called Yap. Working as part of what is known as the Yap/Tead complex, this important protein sends signals to the hearing organ to attain the correct size during embryonic development, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences (PNAS) from the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Neil Segil.
By Lauren McGrath
In honor of our 60th anniversary, Hearing Health Foundation (HHF)’s Board Chair, Elizabeth Keithley, Ph.D., is hosting Hearing360—an educational and social forum at the San Diego Central Library—in early 2018. Hearing360 seeks to engage HHF’s San Diego area constituents with the latest updates in hearing research and everyday guidance for hearing health.
Featured event speakers include scientists Ronna Hertzano, M.D. and Andy Groves, Ph.D. from HHF’s Hearing Restoration Project (HRP), the world’s first international consortium dedicated to identifying a permanent biological cure for hearing loss. Their individual presentations on the regeneration of hair cells in the inner ear will be followed by a brief Q&A session.
Ronna Hertzano, M.D.
Andy Groves, Ph.D.
Hearing360 will also honor the generosity of longtime HHF supporters Frank and Chris De Francesco, who shared their experiences raising a child with profound hearing loss in “Why We Believe in Hearing Health Foundation,” which appeared in the Fall 2017 issue of Hearing Health magazine.
Scheduled for Sunday, February 11 from 3:00 - 5:00 PM in the San Diego Central Library’s Shiley Special Event Suite, Hearing360 will be fully accessible with a t-coil loop system and open captioning. Light refreshments and wine will be available.
Limited space is available and an RSVP is required for all guests. We look forward to meeting you in San Diego. Please contact HHF at events@hhf.org with any questions regarding Hearing360.
