PNAS: Stem cell research suggests new ways to restore hearing

, June 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/
-- To hear a person's cry, you need a protein called YapAs part of the Yap/Tead complex, this important protein sends signals to the hearing organs to the correct size during embryonic development, and the results were recently published in PNAS, completed by Professor Neil Segil of the University of Southern California (USC)Stem CellsLaboratory"Our study sheds light on how the auditory organs develop in the womb and provides new clues about how to restore regeneratively damaged cells in later life to restore hearing," said lead author Ksenia Gnedeva, lead author of theand a former postdoctoral fellow at Neil Segil's lab"
when The Curtis organs were formed in embryonic mice, a group of progenitor cells self-renewed and proliferated to achieve the correct sizeThen, after about two weeks, the progenitor cells begin to differentiate into various specific cell typesPhoto Source: Ksenia Gnedeva
Scientists have found that the Yap/Tead protein complex plays an important role in this complex development process by regulating the activity of hundreds of genes that re-renew and multiply themselvesin the first two weeks of development, Yap protein is a key signal for proliferator cell proliferationIf the Yap signal stimulates proliferation for more than two weeks, the inner ear sensory organ becomes too largeIf the Yap signal breaks down ahead of time, the Curtis organs will end up being too smallWhen the mice were born, the progenitor cells in Kirti's organs had proliferated and differentiated, and could not regenerate if damaged -- leading to permanent hearing loss noteworthy, when scientists activated Yap in hearing-impaired newborn mice, some cells in Kirti's organs began to multiply, suggesting that regeneration was possible "This study provides for the first time to support the possibility of restoring lost hearing and balance sensory cells by activating Yap," said Segil, of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and Professor of Head, Nose and Throat Surgery at the University of Southern California Tina and Rick Caruso Although we are unable to permanently activate Yap in human patients for a variety of practical reasons, we may be able to administer local drugs to be effective against the associated molecular groups " (BioValleyBioon.com) references: Stem cell study suggests to restore hearing Ksenia Gnedeva el al., "
organ of Corti size is governed by Yap/Tead-mediated progenitor self-renewal ," PNAS (2020)