In the world we live in today, modern technology and progress in scientific research have allowed scientists to venture into areas of medical research that we never thought were possible. Dr. Wei-Ming Yu, a neuroscience professor at Loyola University Chicago, has produced work that is a prime example of the advancements in research that we strive to pursue. In a neurobiology research lab at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Yu and his research team investigated the transcriptional network involved with the auditory system and observed how it directed post-synaptic differentiation in synapses specialized for hearing. Through this research, he had been able to suggest that the findings from these experiments may lead to new approaches to treat hearing loss in humans.
In one of his published papers, there is elaboration on the molecular basis of synaptic specificity of Mafb and the critical importance that Gata3 plays in controlling the expression of partnering pre-synaptic and post-synaptic synapses in the auditory system. A series of experiments conducted on mice, test to see what occurs to an animal's hearing when the transcription factor, Gata3, is absent. Mafb consequently can’t form ribbon synapses that normally allow for “rapid and accurate transmission of auditory information.” However, when genetic techniques that forced expression of the gene for Mafb occurred, this led to the formation of ribbon synapses and ultimately allowed sound waves to be converted to neural signals, allowing mice to hear. Could these techniques actually allow humans with hearing loss to have the capability of being able to hear again?
In a published article written by Catherine Caruso from Scientific American, "Can You Hear Me Now? Detecting Hearing Loss in Young People," she writes on previous research that involves the loss of hearing in mice, guinea pigs, chinchillas, and postmortem human ear tissue caused by damage to fibers of the auditory nerve that connect to hair cells. Causes for this are due to a range in noise levels that people don’t normally think are extreme. Caruso goes on to write about how a researcher by the name of Gabriel Corfas, a researcher at the University of Michigan’s Kresge Hearing Research Institute, has taken steps in researching treatments to reverse hearing loss. An exciting discovery occurred when he used the growth factor, neurotrophin 3, to repair auditory nerve fibers found in mice that had been exposed to loud environments. “Corfas is hopeful that a similar therapy could ultimately be used in humans and could, in theory, be an important step in preventing age-associated hearing loss.” It just so happens that other researchers like Dr. Yu are doing just that with research projects of their own! It is exciting to know that there are other researchers from across America that are having similar successes on treatments for hearing loss. While there has been success in these findings, there is still more testing to be done before scientists solve the problem of hearing loss. Until then, it continues to be a work in progress.
So where do we go from here? We have scientists that are observing the development of hearing loss and scientists that are looking for ways to cure/prevent it. While Caruso elaborates on scientists’ investigations on the loss of hearing, researchers like Dr. Yu and Gabriel Corgas have already taken the next step in searching for new approaches to treating hearing loss in humans. These neurobiological approaches in researching molecular solutions help raise new inquiries on how feasible it would be to 'rewire' the pre- and post-synaptic receptors that activate expression over a wide range of genes for auditory capabilities that would allow humans with hearing loss to hear once again.
Works Cited
"Can You Hear Me Now? Detecting Hidden Hearing Loss in Young People." 15 September 2016. Scientific American. Catherine Caruso. <https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-you-hear-me-now-detecting-hidden-hearing-loss-in-young-people/#>.
Gabriel Corfas (2016) Round-window delivery of neurotrophin 3 regenerates cochlear synapses after acoustic overexposure. Scientific Reports 6, Article number: 24907. doi:10.1038/srep24907 https://www.nature.com/articles/srep24907
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