Can hearing loss be reversed? Research reveals clues that could regrow
the cells that help us hear

Date:
February 13, 2023
Source:
University of Rochester Medical Center
Summary:
The most common cause of hearing loss is progressive because
hair cells - - the primary cells to detect sound waves -- cannot
regenerate if damaged or lost. Researchers are now getting closer
to identifying the mechanisms that may promote this type of
regeneration in mammals.


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FULL STORY ========================================================================== Taking a bite of an apple is considered a healthy choice. But have you
ever thought about putting in earplugs before your favorite band takes
the stage?

==========================================================================
Just like your future body will thank you for the apple, your future ears (specifically your cochlear hair cells) will thank you for protecting
them. The most common cause of hearing loss is progressive because
these hair cells - - the primary cells to detect sound waves -- cannot regenerate if damaged or lost. People who have repeated exposure to loud noises, like military personnel, construction workers, and musicians,
are most at risk for this type of hearing loss. But, it can happen to
anyone over time (even concert goers).

On the other hand, birds and fish can regenerate these hair cells,
and now researchers at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience are
getting closer to identifying the mechanisms that may promote this type
of regeneration in mammals, as explained in research recently published
in Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience.

"We know from our previous work that expression of an active growth
gene, called ERBB2, was able to activate the growth of new hair cells
(in mammals), but we didn't fully understand why," said Patricia White,
PhD, professor of Neuroscience and Otolaryngology at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

The 2018 study led by Jingyuan Zhang, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the
White lab at the time, found that activating the growth gene ERBB2 pathway triggered a cascading series of cellular events by which cochlear support
cells began to multiply and activate other neighboring stem cells to
become new sensory hair cells.

"This new study tells us how that activation is happening -- a significant advance toward the ultimate goal of generating new cochlear hair cells
in mammals," said White.

Using single-cell RNA sequencing in mice, researchers compared cells with
an overactive growth gene (ERBB2 signaling) with similar cells that lacked
such signaling. They found the growth gene -- ERBB2 -- promoted stem
cell-like development by initiating the expression of multiple proteins
-- including SPP1, a protein that signals through the CD44 receptor. The
CD44 receptor is known to be present in cochlear-supporting cells. This increase in cellular response promoted mitosis in the supporting cells,
a key event for regeneration.

"When we checked this process in adult mice, we were able to show
that ERBB2 expression drove the protein expression of SPP1 that is
necessary to activate CD44 and grow new hair cells," said Dorota Piekna-Przybylska, PhD, a staff scientist in the White Lab and first
author of the study. "This discovery has made it clear that regeneration
is not only restricted to the early stages of development. We believe
we can use these findings to drive regeneration in adults." "We plan to further investigation of this phenomenon from a mechanistic perspective
to determine whether it can improve auditory function after damage in
mammals. That is the ultimate goal," said White.

Additional authors include Daxiang Na, Cameron Baker, and John Ashton,
PhD, at the University of Rochester and Medical Center. The research
was supported by the U.S. Army Medical Research Mechanism, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, UR Ventures,
and the Schmitt Program on Integrative Neuroscience.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Health_&_Medicine
# Stem_Cells # Hearing_Loss # Immune_System # Hair_Loss
o Mind_&_Brain
# Hearing_Impairment # Neuroscience # Dementia #
Perception
* RELATED_TERMS
o Adult_stem_cell o Hearing_impairment o Hair o Healing o
Somatic_cell o Baldness o Stem_cell o Pernicious_anemia

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_Rochester_Medical_Center. Original written by Kelsie Smith Hayduk. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Dorota Piekna-Przybylska, Daxiang Na, Jingyuan Zhang, Cameron
Baker, John
M. Ashton, Patricia M. White. Single cell RNA sequencing analysis
of mouse cochlear supporting cell transcriptomes with activated
ERBB2 receptor indicates a cell-specific response that promotes
CD44 activation. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 2023; 16 DOI:
10.3389/ fncel.2022.1096872 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230213201054.htm

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