In a novel study researchers identified a gene that could hold the key to reverse the problem of age-related deafness. The breakthrough single gene brings the potential for preventing hearing loss, which affects individuals aged sixty and above. Damage to two-thirds of outer hair cells, the delicate cells in the inner ear is associated with most hearing loss.
The new research suggests that FGF20 gene which is also found in human beings could be essential in attempting to grow new hair cells, which is considered the holy grail of those doing research in treatments for deafness. As human body has no way to replace these cells, so currently there is no cure even though hearing aids can provide some relief.
In study trail researchers from Washington University School of Medicine anesthetized the FGF20 gene in mice by removing a protein, which causes it to develop mouse is in the womb. It is one of a numbers of genes known as fibroblast growth factors, essential in tissue development and wound healing in embryos.
But its removal at the early stage did not appear to cause any other adverse effects. Above all, the inner hair cells seemed normal as they electrically transmit the amplified sounds to the brain. According to lead researcher Dr Sung-Ho Huh, this is first substantiation which shows that inner and outer hair cells grow independently from one another.
The next step is to see if human deafness occurred because of mutations of the same gene that is already in progress. Understanding how cells in the inner ear grow is crucial in developing new therapies for protecting and restoring hearing, explained Rachel Baker from on Hearing Loss.
They pleased to fund a new project is being run by this research team, which is further investigating the role of FGF20 in hearing. In the future, this could lead to studies to test whether reactivation of FGF20 can regenerate damaged parts of the inner ear, added Baker. The study findings published in the journal PLoS Biology.
Professor Karen Steel, an expert in the genetics of deafness from the Sanger Institute in Cambridge stated the scientific community is very, very interested in developing a way of triggering regeneration of hair cells. This study suggests that FGF20 could be critical for the development of that hair cell, as part of a cocktail of other molecules.