Hair cells "from a test tube"
Stem cells will help restore hearing
Bioengineers from the Institute of Molecular Medicine in Lisbon and University College London have developed a method by which it is possible to grow hair cells from embryonic stem cells – cells that are located in the inner ear. They play an important role in the perception of sounds and the work of the vestibular apparatus, Infox reports.
According to the authors, their method is an important step in the development of regenerative medicine. In the future, it is quite possible that the hair cells obtained in this way can be used for transplantation for various hearing problems. Another important aspect of their use is the testing of new drugs.
In their experiment, the authors used mouse embryonic stem cells. However, it took a lot of work to figure out how to make them turn into hair cells.
"We studied the action of various regulatory proteins that are responsible for the development of hair cells in the embryo. And we finally managed to detect three transcription factors – Gfi1, Pou4f3 and Atoh1, which trigger the formation of these cells," says Domingos Henrique, lead author of the study.
Scientists treated mouse embryonic stem cells with these transcription factors and began to observe their further transformations. As a result, they achieved the result they were aiming for: embryonic stem cells turned into hair cells.
"The hair cells got their name from the fact that they resemble a bundle of bound hair. These cells are equipped with an ion channel sensitive to mechanical movements, which allows you to transform vibrations into electrical impulses. These electrical impulses are already transmitted to the central nervous system. Our study showed that the hair cells that we obtained from stem cells have the same properties. This is very important," says Dr. Henrik.
However, according to the authors, the hair cells they obtained were not too mature. They plan to fix this flaw in the future.
The article by Dr. Henrik and his colleagues was published in the latest issue of the journal Development (Costa et al., Generation of sensory hair cells by genetic programming with a combination of transcription factors).
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru26.05.2015