title: Manipulating cell fate in the cochlea: a feasible therapy for hearing loss.
abstract: Mammalian auditory hair cells do not spontaneously regenerate, unlike hair cells in lower vertebrates, including fish and birds. In mammals, hearing loss due to the loss of hair cells is permanent and intractable. Recent studies in the mouse have demonstrated spontaneous hair cell regeneration during a short postnatal period, but this regenerative capacity is lost in the adult cochlea. Reduced regeneration coincides with a transition that results in a decreased pool of progenitor cells in the cochlear sensory epithelium. Here, we review the signaling cascades involved in hair cell formation and morphogenesis of the organ of Corti in developing mammals, the changing status of progenitor cells in the cochlea, and the regeneration of auditory hair cells in adult mammals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujioka
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okano
authors.affiliation: Eaton-Peabody Laboratory, Department of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: albert_edge@meei.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Albert S B
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Edge
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003051:Cochlea / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology
keywords: cell replacement; hair cells; hearing loss; sensory systems