Regenerating From Deafness

(From EurekAlert!). Many stem cell therapies under development are in effect attempts to manipulating biochemical signaling systems into causing more regeneration than would otherwise happen. The stem cells used substitute for our present inability to directly and safely manipulate those signaling systems: "Hearing loss has many causes, including genetics, aging, and infection, and may be complete or partial. Such loss may involve damage to inner ear cells called cochlear fibrocytes, which are fundamental to inner ear function. Some natural regeneration of these cells can occur after acute damage, leading to partial recovery of temporary hearing loss. But could such restoration be enhanced by using bone marrow stem cells, which can differentiate into various tissue-specific cell types ... Stem cells injected into the inner ear survived in half of the injured rats, where they migrated away from the site of injection toward the injured region within the inner ear. These stem cells divided in the new environment and expressed several proteins necessary for hearing, suggesting tissue-specific differentiation. ... Importantly, transplanted rats exhibited faster recovery from hearing loss, particularly in the high frequency range, which is difficult to restore by natural regeneration."

Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/ajop-cyh062207.php

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