Regeneration and replacement in the vertebrate inner ear
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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

In Ovo and Ex Ovo Methods to Study Avian Inner Ear Development
Published on: June 16, 2022
Jonathan I Matsui1, Mark A Parker, Brenda M Ryals
1Laboratory for Cellular and Molecular Hearing Research, Department of Otolaryngology, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Abstract:
Deafness affects more than 40 million people in the UK and the USA, and many more world-wide. The primary cause of hearing loss is damage to or death of the sensory receptor cells in the inner ear, the hair cells. Birds can readily regenerate their cochlear hair cells but the mammalian cochlea has shown no ability to regenerate after damage. Current research efforts are focusing on gene manipulation, gene therapy and stem cell transplantation for repairing or replacing damaged mammalian cochlear hair cells, which could lead to therapies for treating deafness in humans.
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