Mechanism Underlying Deafness Identified

Molecular mechanism fundamental to deafness has been revealed by scientists. Mutation of a specific microRNA called miR-96 known to cause human deafness.

The discovery by researchers at the University of Sheffield could provide the basis for treating progressive hearing loss and deafness.

The research team, led by Dr Walter Marcotti, Royal Society University Research Fellow from the University's Department of Biomedical Science, in collaboration with Professor Karen Steel at the Sanger Institute in Cambridge, discovered that the mutation in miR-96 prevents development of the auditory sensory hair cells. These cells are located in the inner ear and are essential for encoding sound as electrical signals that are then sent to the brain.

The research was based on studies of mice, which do not normally hear until about 12 days after birth. Prior to this age their immature hair cells must execute a precise genetic program that regulates the development of distinct types of sensory hair cell, namely inner and outer hair cells.

The research teams found that in a strain of mice called diminuendo - which carry a single base mutation in the miR-96 gene - hair cell development is arrested around birth.
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Mechanism Underlying Deafness Identified
courtesy:MedIndia