Cochlear hair cell regeneration: an emerging opportunity to cure noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss.

Cochlear hair cell regeneration: an emerging opportunity to cure noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss. Drug Discov Today. 2018 May 04;: Authors: Youm I, Li W Abstract In mammals, cochlear hair cells have a pivotal role in transducing mechanical energy into electrical signals. Cochlear hair cells are sensitive to acoustic trauma, drug insults, aging, and environmental or genetic influences that can cause permanent hearing loss. Currently, much research is focusing on noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Noise-induced SNHL is primarily caused by damage to hair cells of the cochlear sensory epithelium. Here, we summarize progress in restoring the sensory epithelium after SNHL resulting from noise exposure. The prevalent strategy to regenerate cochlear hair cells is through transdifferentiation of the supporting cells through the activation of the NOTCH 1 pathway. PMID: 29733894 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Drug Discovery Today - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Drug Discov Today Source Type: research