Interestingly, some of the genes that were more active in the variant hair cells are typically more active in the supporting cells than in the hair cells. It could be that when miR-96 is a variant, some genes more specific to supporting cells, and which are typically kept turned off in hair cells, incorrectly become activated in hair cells.
Impact 2021
Hearing Health Foundation is grateful for the support of our community to advance our mission to find better treatments and cures for hearing loss, tinnitus, and related conditions in 2021. We’re proud to share this list of significant scientific achievements this past year.
Cochlear Organoids Reveal HIC1’s Role in Hair Cell Differentiation
Emerging Research Grants scientist Dunia Abdul-Aziz, M.D., of Harvard Medical School and Mass Eye and Ear coauthored a study that reveals how the gene Atoh1 in the cochlea can be repressed by the protein HIC1, inhibiting hair cell differentiation. It also demonstrates the power of combining the organoid model with the genetic toolkit to study key regulators of hair cell differentiation, which may help advance the understanding of hair cell development and regeneration.