scholarly journals The challenge of hair cell regeneration

2010 ◽  
Vol 235 (4) ◽  
pp. 434-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew K Groves

Sensory hair cells of the inner ear are responsible for translating auditory or vestibular stimuli into electrical energy that can be perceived by the nervous system. Although hair cells are exquisitely mechanically sensitive, they can be easily damaged by excessive stimulation by ototoxic drugs and by the effects of aging. In mammals, auditory hair cells are never replaced, such that cumulative damage to the ear causes progressive and permanent deafness. In contrast, non-mammalian vertebrates are capable of replacing lost hair cells, which has led to efforts to understand the molecular and cellular basis of regenerative responses in different vertebrate species. In this review, we describe recent progress in understanding the limits to hair cell regeneration in mammals and discuss the obstacles that currently exist for therapeutic approaches to hair cell replacement.

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 567-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Denans ◽  
Sungmin Baek ◽  
Tatjana Piotrowski

Deafness or hearing deficits are debilitating conditions. They are often caused by loss of sensory hair cells or defects in their function. In contrast to mammals, nonmammalian vertebrates robustly regenerate hair cells after injury. Studying the molecular and cellular basis of nonmammalian vertebrate hair cell regeneration provides valuable insights into developing cures for human deafness. In this review, we discuss the current literature on hair cell regeneration in the context of other models for sensory cell regeneration, such as the retina and the olfactory epithelium. This comparison reveals commonalities with, as well as differences between, the different regenerating systems, which begin to define a cellular and molecular blueprint of regeneration. In addition, we propose how new technical advances can address outstanding questions in the field.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shan Xu ◽  
Ning Yang

Mammalian inner ear hair cells do not have the ability to spontaneously regenerate, so their irreversible damage is the main cause of sensorineural hearing loss. The damage and loss of hair cells are mainly caused by factors such as aging, infection, genetic factors, hypoxia, autoimmune diseases, ototoxic drugs, or noise exposure. In recent years, research on the regeneration and functional recovery of mammalian auditory hair cells has attracted more and more attention in the field of auditory research. How to regenerate and protect hair cells or auditory neurons through biological methods and rebuild auditory circuits and functions are key scientific issues that need to be resolved in this field. This review mainly summarizes and discusses the recent research progress in gene therapy and molecular mechanisms related to hair cell regeneration in the field of sensorineural hearing loss.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Rissone ◽  
Erin Jimenez ◽  
Kevin Bishop ◽  
Blake Carrington ◽  
Claire Slevin ◽  
...  

AbstractMutations in the gene AK2 are responsible for Reticular Dysgenesis (RD), a rare and severe form of primary immunodeficiency in children. RD patients have a severely shortened life expectancy and without treatment die a few weeks after birth. The only available therapeutic option for RD is bone marrow transplantation. To gain insight into the pathophysiology of RD, we previously created zebrafish models for an AK2 deficiency. One of the clinical features of RD is hearing loss, but its pathology and causes have not been determined. In adult mammals, sensory hair cells of the inner ear do not regenerate; however, their regeneration has been observed in several non-mammalian vertebrates, including zebrafish. Therefore, we use our RD zebrafish models to determine if AK2 deficiency affects sensory organ development and/or hair cell regeneration. Our studies indicated that AK2 is required for the correct development, survival and regeneration of sensory hair cells. Interestingly, AK2 deficiency induces the expression of several oxidative stress markers and it triggers an increased level of cell death in the hair cells. Finally, we show that glutathione treatment can partially rescue hair cell development in the sensory organs in our RD models, pointing to the potential use of antioxidants as a supportive therapeutic modality for RD patients, not only to increase their chances of survival, but to prevent or ameliorate their sensorineural hearing deficits.


Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (5) ◽  
pp. 961-973 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.S. Stone ◽  
E.W. Rubel

Postembryonic production of hair cells, the highly specialized receptors for hearing, balance and motion detection, occurs in a precisely controlled manner in select species, including avians. Notch1, Delta1 and Serrate1 mediate cell specification in several tissues and species. We examined expression of the chicken homologs of these genes in the normal and drug-damaged chick inner ear to determine if signaling through this pathway changes during hair cell regeneration. In untreated post-hatch chicks, Delta1 mRNA is abundant in a subpopulation of cells in the utricle, which undergoes continual postembryonic hair cell production, but it is absent from all cells in the basilar papilla, which is mitotically quiescent. By 3 days after drug-induced hair cell injury, Delta1 expression is highly upregulated in areas of cell proliferation in both the utricle and basilar papilla. Delta1 mRNA levels are elevated in progenitor cells during DNA synthesis and/or gap 2 phases of the cell cycle and expression is maintained in both daughter cells immediately after mitosis. Delta1 expression remains upregulated in cells that differentiate into hair cells and is downregulated in cells that do not acquire the hair cell fate. Delta1 mRNA levels return to normal by 10 days after hair cell injury. Serrate1 is expressed in both hair cells and support cells in the utricle and basilar papilla, and its expression does not change during the course of drug-induced hair cell regeneration. In contrast, Notch1 expression, which is limited to support cells in the quiescent epithelium, is increased in post-M-phase cell pairs during hair cell regeneration. This study provides initial evidence that Delta-Notch signaling may be involved in maintaining the correct cell types and patterns during postembryonic replacement of sensory epithelial cells in the chick inner ear.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark E. Warchol ◽  
Angela Schrader ◽  
Lavinia Sheets

The sensory organs of the inner ear contain resident populations of macrophages, which are recruited to sites of cellular injury. Such macrophages are known to phagocytose the debris of dying cells but the full role of macrophages in otic pathology is not understood. Lateral line neuromasts of zebrafish contain hair cells that are nearly identical to those in the inner ear, and the optical clarity of larval zebrafish permits direct imaging of cellular interactions. In this study, we used larval zebrafish to characterize the response of macrophages to ototoxic injury of lateral line hair cells. Macrophages migrated into neuromasts within 20 min of exposure to the ototoxic antibiotic neomycin. The number of macrophages in the near vicinity of injured neuromasts was similar to that observed near uninjured neuromasts, suggesting that this early inflammatory response was mediated by “local” macrophages. Upon entering injured neuromasts, macrophages actively phagocytosed hair cell debris. The injury-evoked migration of macrophages was significantly reduced by inhibition of Src-family kinases. Using chemical-genetic ablation of macrophages before the ototoxic injury, we also examined whether macrophages were essential for the initiation of hair cell regeneration. Results revealed only minor differences in hair cell recovery in macrophage-depleted vs. control fish, suggesting that macrophages are not essential for the regeneration of lateral line hair cells.


2005 ◽  
Vol 15 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 225-241
Author(s):  
Kirk W. Beisel ◽  
Yesha Wang-Lundberg ◽  
Adel Maklad ◽  
Bernd Fritzsch

Herein, we will review molecular aspects of vestibular ear development and present them in the context of evolutionary changes and hair cell regeneration. Several genes guide the development of anterior and posterior canals. Although some of these genes are also important for horizontal canal development, this canal strongly depends on a single gene, Otx1. Otx1 also governs the segregation of saccule and utricle. Several genes are essential for otoconia and cupula formation, but protein interactions necessary to form and maintain otoconia or a cupula are not yet understood. Nerve fiber guidance to specific vestibular end-organs is predominantly mediated by diffusible neurotrophic factors that work even in the absence of differentiated hair cells. Neurotrophins, in particular Bdnf, are the most crucial attractive factor released by hair cells. If Bdnf is misexpressed, fibers can be redirected away from hair cells. Hair cell differentiation is mediated by Atoh1. However, Atoh1 may not initiate hair cell precursor formation. Resolving the role of Atoh1 in postmitotic hair cell precursors is crucial for future attempts in hair cell regeneration. Additional analyses are needed before gene therapy can help regenerate hair cells, restore otoconia, and reconnect sensory epithelia to the brain.


Author(s):  
Ru Zhang ◽  
Xiao-Peng Liu ◽  
Ya-Juan Li ◽  
Ming Wang ◽  
Lin Chen ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundHuman cochlear hair cells cannot spontaneously regenerate after loss. In contrast, those in fish and amphibians have a remarkable ability to regenerate after damaged. Previous studies focus on signaling mechanisms of hair cell regeneration, such as Wnt and Notch signals but seldom on the fact that the beginning of regeneration is accompanied by a large number of inflammatory responses. The detailed role of this inflammation in hair cell regeneration is still unknown. In addition, there is no appropriate behavioral method to quantitatively evaluate the functional recovery of lateral line hair cells after regeneration.ResultsIn this study, we found that when inflammation was suppressed, the regeneration of lateral line hair cells and the recovery of the rheotaxis of the larvae were significantly delayed. Calcium imaging showed that the function of the neuromasts in the inflammation-inhibited group was weaker than that in the non-inflammation-inhibited group at the Early Stage of regeneration, and returned to normal at the Late Stage. Calcium imaging also revealed the cause of the mismatch between the function and quantity during regeneration.ConclusionsOur results, meanwhile, suggest that suppressing inflammation delays hair cell regeneration and functional recovery when hair cells are damaged. This study may provide a new knowledge for how to promote hair cell regeneration and functional recovery in adult mammals.


1999 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 1025-1035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher T. Goode ◽  
John P. Carey ◽  
Albert F. Fuchs ◽  
Edwin W Rubel

Recovery of the vestibulocolic reflex after aminoglycoside ototoxicity in domestic chickens. Avian auditory and vestibular hair cells regenerate after damage by ototoxic drugs, but until recently there was little evidence that regenerated vestibular hair cells function normally. In an earlier study we showed that the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) is eliminated with aminoglycoside antibiotic treatment and recovers as hair cells regenerate. The VOR, which stabilizes the eye in the head, is an open-loop system that is thought to depend largely on regularly firing afferents. Recovery of the VOR is highly correlated with the regeneration of type I hair cells. In contrast, the vestibulocolic reflex (VCR), which stabilizes the head in space, is a closed-loop, negative-feedback system that seems to depend more on irregularly firing afferent input and is thought to be subserved by different circuitry than the VOR. We examined whether this different reflex also of vestibular origin would show similar recovery after hair cell regeneration. Lesions of the vestibular hair cells of 10-day-old chicks were created by a 5-day course of streptomycin sulfate. One day after completion of streptomycin treatment there was no measurable VCR gain, and total hair cell density was ∼35% of that in untreated, age-matched controls. At 2 wk postlesion there was significant recovery of the VCR; at this time two subjects showed VCR gains within the range of control chicks. At 3 wk postlesion all subjects showed VCR gains and phase shifts within the normal range. These data show that the VCR recovers before the VOR. Unlike VOR gain, recovering VCR gain correlates equally well with the density of regenerating type I and type II vestibular hair cells, except at high frequencies. Several factors other than hair cell regeneration, such as length of stereocilia, reafferentation of hair cells, and compensation involving central neural pathways, may be involved in behavioral recovery. Our data suggest that one or more of these factors differentially affect the recovery of these two vestibular reflexes.


1994 ◽  
Vol 111 (3P1) ◽  
pp. 281-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin W Rubel ◽  
Terance T. Tsue ◽  
Elizabeth C. Oesterle ◽  
Edwin W. Rubel

Hearing and balance disorders caused by the loss of inner ear hair cells Is a common problem encountered in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. The postembryonic production of hair cells in cold-blooded vertebrates has been known for several decades, and recent studies in the avian inner ear after ototoxic drug and noise damage have demonstrated a remarkable capacity for both anatomic and functional recovery. The regeneration of sensory hair cells has been shown to be integral to this repair process. Current work is focusing on the cellular progenitor source of new hair cells and the trigger mechanism responsible for inducing hair cell regeneration. Preliminary studies suggest that reparative proliferation may also occur in the mammalian inner ear. Work in this field is moving at a rapid pace. The results thus far have yielded optimism that direct stimulation of hair cell production or transplantation of living hair cells may eventually become treatment modalities for the damaged human inner ear. These proposals would have been considered unrealistic less than 10 years ago, but they now have caught the full attention of both clinician and researcher.


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