Mammalian Cochlear Hair Cell Regeneration and Ribbon Synapse Reformation

Abstract

Hair cells (HCs) are the sensory preceptor cells in the inner ear, which play an important role in hearing and balance. The HCs of organ of Corti are susceptible to noise, ototoxic drugs, and infections, thus resulting in permanent hearing loss. Recent approaches of HCs regeneration provide new directions for finding the treatment of sensor neural deafness. To have normal hearing function, the regenerated HCs must be reinnervated by nerve fibers and reform ribbon synapse with the dendrite of spiral ganglion neuron through nerve regeneration. In this review, we discuss the research progress in HC regeneration, the synaptic plasticity, and the reinnervation of new regenerated HCs in mammalian inner ear.

Associations of noise kurtosis, genetic variations in NOX3 and lifestyle factors with noise-induced hearing loss

“…Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is irreversible hearing loss caused by cochlear hair cell death combined with synaptic damage resulting from accumulated noise exposure [1,2]. Usually, NIHL manifests as a temporary or permanent hearing impairment in the 3, 4 and 6 kHz frequency ranges [3].…”

Association Between Portable Music Player Use and Hearing Loss Among Children of School Age in the Netherlands

“…[1][2][3][4] Cumulative exposure to music or noise damages cochlear hair cells and synapses, which results in irreversible hearing loss and therefore a lifetime disability. 5,6 Early exposure might lead to an increase of clinically relevant noiseinduced hearing loss (NIHL) at younger ages and to more severe hearing loss in later life. 7 Noise-induced hearing loss is considered to be a cumulative process and is often presented as a temporary or permanent notch around 3, 4, or 6 kHz in the audiogram, but higher frequencies have been shown to be affected as well.…”

Research Progress of Hair Cell Protection Mechanism

“…In addition, the control of the number of regenerated HCs, the reconstruction of cell structure, the effective arrangement of cilia, the fine docking of nerve synapses, etc. are all important basis for evaluating the success of HC regeneration [ 21 ]. Through continuous exploration of the mechanism of sensory HC regeneration, it will help to solve the problem of mammalian sensory HC regeneration in the future.…”