An approach to regenerate inner ear sensory hair cells reportedly lays the groundwork for treating chronic noise-induced hearing loss by the company, Frequency Therapeutics,  which is drawing on research from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), Harvard Medical School, Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In the February 21, 2017 edition of Cell Reports, the scientists describe a technique to grow large quantities of inner ear progenitor cells that convert into hair cells. The same techniques are said to show the ability to regenerate hair cells in the cochlea.

The new research built on previous work to control the growth of intestinal stem cells expressing the protein Lgr5 and targeted a different population of Lgr5 cells that were discovered to be the source of sensory hair cells in the cochlea during development. The team successfully identified a protocol of small molecules to efficiently grow the cochlear progenitor cells into large colonies with a high capacity for differentiation into hair cells.

“The ability to regenerate hair cells within the inner ear already exists in nature,” said Jeff Karp, PhD, of BWH and Harvard Medical School in the press release. “Birds and amphibians are able to regenerate these cells throughout their lives, which provided the base for our inspiration.”

We’re harnessing the body’s innate ability to heal itself,” said David Lucchino, co-founder, president and CEO of Frequency Therapeutics. “Frequency’s development of a disease modifying therapeutic that can be administered with a simple injection could have a profound effect on chronic noise-induced hearing loss, and we are rapidly advancing this program into human clinical trials within the next 18 months,” added Chris Loose, PhD, co-founder and CSO of the company.

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