Researchers have partially restored the hearing of deaf mice by delivering functioning genes into their ear cells.
Jeffrey Holt at Boston Children's Hospital in Massachusetts and his colleagues tested deaf mice that have mutations in the Tmc1 gene, which causes 4–8% of genetic deafness in some human populations. They injected the mice with a virus carrying the gene and found that hair cells in the inner ear — which normally convert sound vibrations into electrical signals — took up and expressed the gene. The animals showed startle reflexes and brain responses to sounds.
This approach could one day complement other hearing-loss therapies, such as cochlear implants and hearing aids, the authors say.
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Deafness can be reversed in mice. Nature 523, 259 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/523259c
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/523259c
