regeneration of hair cells making sense of all the noise毛细胞的再生制造的噪音.pdfVIP

Pharmaceuticals 2011, 4, 848-879; doi:10.3390/ph4060848 OPEN ACCESS pharmaceuticals ISSN 1424-8247 /journal/pharmaceuticals Review Regeneration of Hair Cells: Making Sense of All the Noise Benjamin Kopecky 1,2 and Bernd Fritzsch 1,* 1 Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA 2 Medical Scientist Training Program, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: bernd-fritzsch@; Tel.: +1-319-353-2969. Received: 2 May 2011; in revised form: 4 June 2011 / Accepted: 8 June 2011 / Published: 17 June 2011 Abstract: Hearing loss affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide by dampening or cutting off their auditory connection to the world. Current treatments for sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) with cochlear implants are not perfect, leaving regenerative medicine as the logical avenue to a perfect cure. Multiple routes to regeneration of damaged hair cells have been proposed and are actively pursued. Each route not only requires a keen understanding of the molecular basis of ear development but also faces the practical limitations of stem cell regulation in the delicate inner ear where topology of cell distribution is essential. Improvements in our molecular understanding of the minimal essential genes necessary for hair cell formation and recent adv