{"id":55141,"date":"2025-04-27T16:05:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-27T16:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/55141\/"},"modified":"2025-04-27T16:05:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-27T16:05:09","slug":"tracing-the-origins-of-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/55141\/","title":{"rendered":"Tracing the Origins of Hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Summary: <\/strong>Researchers have developed a genetic \u201cbarcoding\u201d method to trace how stem cells in embryos become neurons and inner ear cells. By labeling early stem cells in mice, the team followed their development and mapped the formation of the inner ear.<\/p>\n<p>They found that hearing-critical cells arise from two main types of stem cells, offering clues for future hearing loss therapies. This approach provides a detailed \u201cfamily tree\u201d of nervous system development and could eventually reduce the need for animal testing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Key Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Genetic Barcoding:<\/strong> A virus-based barcode allowed researchers to trace stem cell development into neurons and inner ear cells.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hearing Insights:<\/strong> Two main stem cell types give rise to critical inner ear structures involved in hearing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Future Applications:<\/strong> The method could aid treatments for hearing loss and help study other parts of the nervous system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong>Karolinska Institute<\/p>\n<p><strong>Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a method that shows how the nervous system and sensory organs are formed in an embryo. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By labelling stem cells with a genetic \u2018barcode\u2019, they have been able to follow the cells\u2019 developmental journey and discover how the inner ear is formed in mice.<\/p>\n<p>The discovery, published in Science, could provide important insights for future treatment of hearing loss.<\/p>\n<p>  <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"711\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/genetics-hearing-development-neuroscience.jpg\" alt=\"This shows cells in the inner ear.\"  \/> Image of the inner ear. At the top, a dense mass of cells (blue) adjacent to the organ of hearing: a row of inner hair cells (blue, round) surrounded by supporting cells (purple and green diffuse squares). Then three rows of hair cells (large, blue, round), and then another row of supporting cells (smaller blue, round, inside squares). At the bottom, a dense mass of cells associated with the organ of hearing (circled in green). Photo: Sandra de Haan<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur study shows how different cell types arise from stem cells in the embryo and how they are organised to create important structures in the brain,\u201d explains\u00a0Emma Andersson, docent at the\u00a0Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou could say that we have created a family tree for the cells of the nervous system and the inner ear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Replacing damaged cells<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The researchers used a technique where they injected a virus into mouse stem cells at an early stage of development. The virus contained a genetic \u2018barcode\u2019 that was integrated into the DNA of the stem cells and then inherited as the cells divided.<\/p>\n<p>By following this code, the researchers could track how the cells developed into different types of neurons and cells in the inner ear.<\/p>\n<p>The results showed that cells in the inner ear, which are crucial for hearing, develop from two main types of stem cells. This knowledge could lead to new treatments for hearing loss.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTracing the origin and development of cells gives us a unique opportunity to understand the basic mechanisms behind hearing loss,\u201d says Emma Andersson. \u201cIt can help us find new ways to repair or replace damaged cells in the inner ear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Exploring the nervous system<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The team now plans to use the method to study other parts of the nervous system, but also how the rest of the body develops. They hope their work will lead to new insights and treatments for various genetic and developmental diseases.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are only at the beginning of understanding the complex processes behind nervous system development,\u201d says Emma Andersson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur method opens up many exciting opportunities to explore how the nervous system and the rest of the body are formed during embryonic development. In addition, the technique can reduce the number of mice used in research.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She led the study with\u00a0Jingyan He, a postdoctoral fellow, and Sandra de Haan, a former PhD student in Emma Andersson\u2019s research group.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Funding: <\/strong>The research was funded by Karolinska Institutet, the European Union, the Erling-Persson Foundation, the Swedish Research Council, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Hearing Research Fund, Horizon Europe and Wallenberg Bioinformatics Support. Co-author Jonas Fris\u00e9n is a consultant for 10x Genomics.<\/p>\n<p>No other conflicts of interest are declared.<\/p>\n<p>About this genetics and neurodevelopment research news<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ffffe8\"><strong>Author: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ki.se\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Emma Andersson<\/a><br \/><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ki.se\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Karolinska Institute<\/a><br \/><strong>Contact: <\/strong>Emma Andersson \u2013 Karolinska Institute<br \/><strong>Image: <\/strong>The image is credited to Sandra de Haan<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ffffe8\"><strong>Original Research: <\/strong>Closed access.<br \/>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/science.adq9248\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ectoderm barcoding reveals neural and cochlear compartmentalization<\/a>\u201d by Emma Andersson et al. Science<\/p>\n<p><strong>Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ectoderm barcoding reveals neural and cochlear compartmentalization<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Placodes and the neural crest are defining features of vertebrates. In this study, we investigate their lineages in mice using in utero approaches.<\/p>\n<p>We demonstrated that nanoinjection at embryonic day 7.5 targeted the ectoderm, including the future nervous system, placodes, and neural crest, allowing highly efficient manipulation of the future nervous system and inner ear.<\/p>\n<p>By using heritable DNA barcodes and high-throughput next-generation single-cell lineage tracing, we elucidated convergent differentiation pathways and identified distinct nervous system\u2013, neural crest\u2013, and otic placode\u2013derived lineages.<\/p>\n<p>Clonal analyses identified early neural and cochlear compartmentalization, linking differentiated cell types to their progenitors or cellular siblings.<\/p>\n<p>This provides foundational insights for neuroscience and developmental biology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Summary: Researchers have developed a genetic \u201cbarcoding\u201d method to trace how stem cells in embryos become neurons and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[29269,648,215,649,267,105,2484,29270,219,654,220,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-55141","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-auditory-neuroscience","9":"tag-brain-development","10":"tag-brain-research","11":"tag-developmental-neuroscience","12":"tag-genetics","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-hearing","15":"tag-karolinska-institute","16":"tag-neurobiology","17":"tag-neurodevelopment","18":"tag-neuroscience","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114410784278215656","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}