Apples for Health- Stem cells may lead to deafness treatment

Stem cells may lead to deafness treatment

SHEFFIELD, England, March 23 (UPI) -- The University of Sheffield successfully isolated human auditory stem cells from fetal cochleae into sensory hair cells and neurons, English researchers said.

Study leader Dr. Marcelo N. Rivolta researchers painstakingly dissected and cultured cochlear cells from 9- to 11-week-old human fetuses. The cells were expanded and maintained in vitro for up to one year, with continued division for the first 7 to 8 months and up to 30 population doublings, which is similar to other non-embryonic stem cell populations, such as bone marrow.

Gene expression analysis showed that all cell lines expressed otic markers that lead to the development of the inner ear as well as markers expressed by pluripotent embryonic stem cells, from which all tissues and organs develop.

"The results are the first in vitro renewable stem cell system derived from the human auditory organ and have the potential for a variety of applications, such as studying the development of human cochlear neurons and hair cells, as models for drug screening and helping to develop cell-based therapies for deafness," the study authors said in a statement.

Although the hair cell-like cells did not show the typical formation of a hair bundle, the authors suggest that future studies will aim to improve the differentiation system, the study said.

The study is scheduled to be published in the April issue of Stem Cells.