Embryonic stem cells have the potential to become any cell type, which is used as a source for regenerating lost inner ear hair cells.

"We explored various regulatory proteins that control hair cell development in the embryo to design an effective combination to induce the formation of these cells," said Domingos Henrique from the Molecular Medicine Institute in Lisbon, Portugal.
Along with researchers from University College London Ear Institute, Britain, Henrique and his team applied their approach to mouse embryonic stem cells in a dish which had the potential to become any cell type.
They were able to convert these cells into hair cells, more successfully and with higher efficiencies than previously reported. The researchers added the cells in the ear of a developing chick embryo.
They were also able to induce the formation of many new hair cells, including in areas where they do not form normally, suggesting that a similar strategy might work humans.
The team will now focus both on improving this method to produce fully mature hair cells and on applying the method to human cells that can be produced in large quantities.
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Source-Medindia