The same genes could hold the key to regenerating cells in the ear and eye, according to a new mouse study from the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Ksenia Gnedeva, PhD, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
“The proliferation of progenitor cells in response to injury is a crucial step in the regeneration of sensory receptors, but this process is blocked in the mammalian inner ear and retina. By understanding the genes that enforce this block, we can advance efforts to restore hearing and vision in patients,” said Gnedeva, an assistant professor in the USC Tina and Rick Caruso Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, and the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
In the study, first authors Eva Jahanshir and Juan Llamas from the Gnedeva lab focused on a group of interacting genes called the Hippo pathway, which serve as a “stop growing” signal that the lab has shown to inhibit cell proliferation in the ear during embryonic development. In their experiments, the scientists demonstrated that the Hippo pathway also suppresses the regeneration of damaged sensory receptors in the ear and eye of adult mice.
To read more, visit https://stemcell.keck.usc.edu/mouse-study-identifies-shared-genes-involved-in-hearing-and-vision-regeneration.