The CEO of Oklahoma’s Hough Ear Institute and a 26-year U.S. Army veteran, Richard Kopke, M.D. (1996 ERG), coauthored a March 2018 paper in Molecular Therapy about the use of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to block the activity of the Notch signaling pathway gene Hes1. Hes1 has been shown to itself block supporting cells from converting into hair cells. The team found that a sustained release of siRNAs in mouse cochleae through nanoparticles after deafening resulted in the recovery of some hearing ability, measured using auditory brainstem responses. Compared with the control mice, the injected mice showed less overall hair cell loss and early signs of immature hair cell development, which the authors say may signal hair cell regeneration. —Y.L.
Hearing Health Blog
