Journal Club - New tool to create hearing cells lost in aging

Hearing loss due to aging, noise and certain cancer therapy drugs and antibiotics has been irreversible because scientists have not been able to reprogram existing cells to develop into the outer and inner ear sensory cells that are essential for hearing once they die. 

But Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a single master gene that programs ear hair cells into either outer or inner ones, overcoming a major hurdle that had prevented the development of these cells to restore hearing. The study was published in Nature journal. The master gene which the Northwestern scientists discovered programs the ear hair cells. When the gene is expressed, the cell becomes an inner hair cell. When the gene is blocked, the cell becomes an outer hair cell.

Currently, scientists can produce an artificial hair cell, but it does not differentiate into an inner or outer cell, which provide different essential functions to produce hearing. Researchers in conclusion said these finding gives them the first clear cell switch to make one type versus the other. It will provide a previously unavailable tool to make an inner or outer hair cell.