"INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH

How inner ear sensory cells form during development

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have shown how microscopic crystals form sound and gravity sensors inside the inner ear. Located at the ends of cilia – tiny hair-like cells in the ear that move and transmit signals – these crystals play an important role in detecting sound, maintaining balance and regulating movement.

Findings from the study, published in the journal Nature, suggest a potential treatment involving the gene responsible for producing the protein that controls the movement of cilia.

The team used high-speed, high-definition video imaging to watch cilia moving in real-time inside the developing ears of embryonic zebrafish. These small, bony fish undergo stages of development similar to humans and other vertebrates, making them useful models for research.

In the control group, the cilia beat like tiny oars, causing particles to circle in a vortex around them. As a result, the tornado of whirling particles accumulated at the right location to form the inner ear's crystalline sensors. The team then blocked the action of a protein that normally works as a molecular motor to drive cilia movement, causing the cilia to stop. This meant that the particles failed to assemble in the correct place and the crystals that formed were misshapen and abnormally sized.

Kent Hill, associate professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics said "While it's been suggested that cilia movement contributes to the formation of ear crystals, this idea had never been tested before. Our findings show that cilia in the ear do move and demonstrate that cilia movement is needed for ear crystals to assemble in the right place."

The findings offer promise not just for the treatment of patients with hearing disorders but people with a range of conditions affecting cilia in other parts of the body, including some types of infertility and lung and respiratory disorders.

Further information
›› Hearing loss research"

FUENTE: www.deafnessresearch.org.uk