Citation
The Hearing Restoration Project is a collaborative effort to accelerate research to promote hair cell regeneration. We comprise thirteen laboratories in the US and Canada that work to identify roadblocks in the field, brainstorm solutions, develop resources, and share and discuss data. Current efforts are focused on defining the molecular signatures of mature hair cells and identifying the cellular signals that enable supporting cells from some species, organs, and ages to regenerate functional hair cells but prevent this response in mature mammals. Our goal is to develop approaches to drive hair cell regeneration in the human cochlea, to heal hearing loss and tinnitus. We also aim to have a broader impact on the field by training and supporting young scientists and by providing access to the data we have produced so that others may benefit. The gEAR platform was developed with support from HRP and the Hearing Health Foundation to promote data sharing and analysis.
To facilitate exploration of the data we analyzed and to use the results to design and evaluate efforts to promote hair cell regeneration, we developed the HRP Hair Cell Gene Explorer. This application can be used to look more closely at the analyses we performed, to assess the enrichment of a gene of interest in hair cells from other species and timepoints, and to identify potential new markers for those hair cells. We also established a list of 884 “hair cell enriched” (HCE) genes that are enriched in developing and mature hair cells across species, providing a common metric for assessing the nature of hair cells regenerated experimentally. Examples of how this list can be used are provided in the application.
