Hedgehog Signaling Promotes the Proliferation and Subsequent Hair Cell Formation of Progenitor Cells in the Neonatal Mouse Cochlea.

ABSTRACT: Hair cell (HC) loss is the major cause of permanent sensorineural hearing loss in mammals. Unlike lower vertebrates, mammalian cochlear HCs cannot regenerate spontaneously after damage, although the vestibular system does maintain limited HC regeneration capacity. Thus HC regeneration from the damaged sensory epithelium has been one of the main areas of research in the field of hearing restoration. Hedgehog signaling plays important roles during the embryonic development of the inner ear, and it is involved in progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation as well as the cell fate decision. In this study, we show that recombinant Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) protein effectively promotes sphere formation, proliferation, and differentiation of Lgr5+ progenitor cells isolated from the neonatal mou

SUBMITTER: Chen Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5742997 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature