Premium
Towards gene therapy for deafness
Author(s) -
Di Domenico Marina,
Ricciardi Carmela,
Martone Tiziana,
Mazzarella Nicoletta,
Cassandro Claudia,
Chiarella Giuseppe,
D'Angelo Luigi,
Cassandro Ettore
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of cellular physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.529
H-Index - 174
eISSN - 1097-4652
pISSN - 0021-9541
DOI - 10.1002/jcp.22617
Subject(s) - sensory system , hearing loss , inner ear , apoptosis , neuroscience , biology , genetic enhancement , medicine , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , cancer research , audiology , genetics
Abstract Many hearing disorders are associated with the damage or loss of sensory hair cells (HC) which can produce a profound and irreversible deafness. Apoptosis pathway is reported to play an important role leading to rapid expansion of the HC lesion after exposure to intense noise. Furthermore, progress made over the last year in understanding molecular mechanisms involved in the proliferative and regenerative capacity of sensory cells in the mammalian inner ear has raised the possibility that targeted therapies might prevent the loss of these cells and preserve the patient's hearing. A first step towards the successful therapeutic exploitation is a better understanding of the different pathways that control survival and proliferation of sensory cells. In this review, we provide an overview of recent findings concerning the possibility to prevent apoptosis in auditory cells. We also show the current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms involved in the potential regenerative behavior of these cells and the progress of gene therapy to prevent deafness noise‐induced. J. Cell. Physiol. 226: 2494–2499, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.