Notch signaling and the emergence of auditory hair cells.
OBJECTIVE
Recent insights into the mechanisms that determine a hair cell's fate have emerged from studies on invertebrate sensory organs and the avian inner ear. These mechanisms have important implications for our understanding of the possible therapeutic management of sensorineural deafness. This article reviews the current state of our knowledge regarding mammalian auditory hair cell fate specification.


METHODS
Data were obtained from the MEDLINE database and data presented at the Molecular Biology of Hearing and Deafness Meeting (Bethesda, Md, October 1998). Articles reporting information about cell fate specification and Notch and its ligands were selected.


METHODS
Data pertaining to cell fate mechanisms, Notch and its ligands, and application to hearing were extracted.


RESULTS
The Notch/ligand mechanism is responsible for the specification of the hair cell phenotype.


CONCLUSIONS
Major progress has been made in understanding this fundamental process, and its application to hair cell determination is only now being realized. Possible applications could involve the "switching" of supporting cells to hair cells, thus replenishing those hair cells damaged in sensorineural hearing loss.
Weir
J
J
University Ear, Nose, and Throat Department, Southmead Hospital, Bristol, England.
Rivolta
M N
MN
Holley
M C
MC
D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction