Lab-grown ‘mini-ears’ help us better understand hearing loss
Researchers at the LUMC are creating increasingly complex ‘mini inner ears’ from stem cells. This enables them to investigate the causes of hearing loss more effectively and to test new treatments.
The inner ear plays a vital role in hearing and balance, but it is difficult to study because it is so small, fragile and located deep within the skull. Researchers at the LUMC are therefore growing so-called mini-inner ears in the laboratory. Thanks to new insights, they are now able to make these models more complete, enabling better investigation of hearing and balance disorders.
The mini inner ears
The mini inner ears, also known as organoids, are created from human stem cells taken from sources such as skin or blood. By adding various substances during the cultivation process, researchers are able to replicate the development of the inner ear. The models contain, amongst other things, hair cells that detect sound and movement, and nerve cells that transmit signals to the brain. However, an important type of cell that regulates the fluid in the inner ear had been missing until now.
Hedgehog-signal
By studying the early development of the human inner ear, the scientists discovered which signals trigger the formation of these missing cells. When they switched off a specific signal known as the Hedgehog-signal in the mini-inner ears, the cells did appear. As a result, the model now more closely resembles a real human inner ear, enabling researchers to study more accurately what goes wrong in disorders.
