MSGID: 1:317/3 63eb0e6e   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    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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