
Corfas Lab, University of MIchigan
This microscope image of tissue from deep inside a normal mouse ear shows how ribbon synapses (red) form the connections between the hair cells of the inner ear (blue) and the tips of nerve cells (green) that connect to the brain.
Scientists have restored the hearing of mice partly deafened by noise, using advanced tools to boost the production of a key protein in their ears.
By demonstrating the importance of the protein, called NT3, in maintaining communication between the ears and brain, these new findings pave the way for research in humans that could improve treatment of hearing loss caused by noise exposure and normal aging.
In a new paper in the online journal eLife, the team from the University of Michigan Medical School’s Kresge Hearing Research Institute and Harvard University report the results of their work to understand NT3’s role in the inner ear, and the impact of increased NT3 production on hearing after a noise exposure.
Their work also illustrates the key role of cells that have traditionally been seen as the “supporting actors” of the ear-brain connection. Called supporting cells, they form a physical base for the hearing system’s “stars”: the hair cells in the ear that interact directly with the nerves that carry sound signals to the brain. This new research identifies the critical role of these supporting cells along with the NT3 molecules that they produce.
NT3 is crucial to the body’s ability to form and maintain connections between hair cells and nerve cells, the researchers demonstrate. This special type of connection, called a ribbon synapse, allows extra-rapid communication of signals that travel back and forth across tiny gaps between the two types of cells.
“It has become apparent that hearing loss due to damaged ribbon synapses is a very common and challenging problem, whether it’s due to noise or normal aging,” says Gabriel Corfas, Ph.D., who led the team and directs the U-M institute. “We began this work 15 years ago to answer very basic questions about the inner ear, and now we have been able to restore hearing after partial deafening with noise, a common problem for people. It’s very exciting.”
Using a special genetic technique, the researchers made it possible for some mice to produce additional NT3 in cells of specific areas of the inner ear after they were exposed to noise loud enough to reduce hearing. Mice with extra NT3 regained their ability to hear much better than the control mice.
Now, says Corfas, his team will explore the role of NT3 in human ears, and seek drugs that might boost NT3 action or production. While the use of such drugs in humans could be several years away, the new discovery gives them a specific target to pursue.
The Latest on: Hearing loss
via Google News
The Latest on: Hearing loss
- Ask the Experts – How to Begin Your Journey to Better Hearingon February 25, 2021 at 9:15 am
How to Begin Your Journey to Better Hearing Hearing loss occurs in approximately one in ten individuals in the United States. Though hearing issues occur in epidemic ...
- Zoom Just Added Free Captions After a Hard-of-Hearing Health Reporter Shines a Lighton February 25, 2021 at 9:07 am
Less than a week after the health journalist Julia Métraux, who is hard-of-hearing, tweeted about Zoom’s lack of free captions as an accessibility and human rights issue, the company has met the call.
- Hearing Protection: Let’s Get Personalon February 25, 2021 at 8:30 am
Let’s Get Personal . Properly protecting workers’ hearing goes beyond simple hearing protection devices. By Jackie DiFrancesco; Feb 25, 2021; Excessive noi ...
- New Research Shows 80% of Us Consider Hearing Loss Serious, So Why Do We Ignore It?on February 25, 2021 at 7:09 am
Do you know someone who has trouble hearing but isn’t addressing it? Is that someone you? New research from the Hearing Industries Association (HIA) reveals that 4 out of 5 Americans consider hearing ...
- Decibel Therapeutics' Hearing Loss Gene Therapy Shows Potential In Preclinical Studieson February 24, 2021 at 6:51 pm
Decibel Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: DBTX) presented preclinical data of its gene therapy candidate, DB-OTO, for hearing loss due to mutation of the otoferlin gene. Decibel presented the data at the ...
- Frequency Therapeutics Announces Publication of Phase 1/2 Data Showing Hearing Improvements in Acquired Sensorineural Hearing Loss Patients Receiving FX-322on February 21, 2021 at 9:00 pm
Frequency Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: FREQ), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on harnessing the body’s innate biology to repair or rever ...
- Conductive hearing loss during development does not appreciably alter the sharpness of cochlear tuningon February 17, 2021 at 12:51 pm
For those with hearing loss, much of this difficulty, known as masking, is assumed to arise from sensorineural damage in the auditory periphery (the cochlea) 3, 4, 5. This is because under ...
- Molecular diagnosis of non-syndromic hearing loss patients using a stepwise approach | Scientific Reportson February 16, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Hearing loss is one of the most common birth disorders in humans, with an estimated prevalence of 1–3 in every 1000 newborns. This study investigates the molecular etiology of a hearing loss cohort ...
- Biodesign and otolaryngology team up for hearing loss and other ear, nose, and throat challengeson February 16, 2021 at 6:47 am
A partnership is improving patient care in the field of otolaryngology by pairing Stanford Biodesign fellows with clinicians.
- Genetic-Based Hearing Loss May Occur in 30son February 15, 2021 at 6:23 am
Head of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Istanbul Medipol University Prof. Dr. Yıldırım Ahmet Bayazıt, emerging in adulthood and age ...
via Bing News