Zebrafish have a unique set of proteins that restore hearing

Although human hair cell loss cannot be replaced, many animals, including zebrafish, can recover hearing

Hearing loss affects about 37.

Humans and zebrafish are very different in vision, but at the genomic level, more than 70% of their genes are identical

Dr.

"Humans and other mammals are born with a certain number of hair cells that slowly disappear

Through a combination of genomic technology and computationally-based machine learning, Jimenez and her collaborators found that hair cell regeneration in zebrafish relies on a network of proteins that can switch genes, known as transcription factors

If the transcription factor is considered to be the key to opening and closing the car, the enhancer sequence is the ignition switch

The researchers used new genomic techniques called single-cell RNA sequencing and single-cell detection transposase-accessible chromatin, which by sequencing to determine the sequence of enhancers and their corresponding transcription factors, playing a role

"Our study identified two families of transcription factors that work together to activate hair cell regeneration in zebrafish, known as sox and Six transcription factors

First, sox transcription factors initiate a regenerative response in surrounding cells, called support cells

When the hair cells of the zebrafish die, nearby support cells begin to replicate

"We have identified a unique combination of transcription factors that can trigger the regeneration

Erin Jimenez, Claire C.