A gene called
GAS2 plays a key role in normal hearing, and its absence causes severe hearing loss, according to a study led by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Developmental Cell, discovered that the protein encoded by
GAS2 is crucial for maintaining the structural stiffness of support cells in the inner ear that normally help amplify incoming sound waves. They showed that inner ear support cells lacking functional
GAS2 lose their amplifier abilities, causing severe hearing impairment in mice. The researchers also identified people who have
GAS2 mutations and severe hearing loss.
“Anatomists 150 years ago took pains to draw these support cells with the details of their unique internal structures, but it’s only now, with this discovery about
PHILADELPHIA A gene called
GAS2 plays a key role in normal hearing, and its absence causes severe hearing loss, according to a study led by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Developmental Cell, discovered that the protein encoded by
GAS2 is crucial for maintaining the structural stiffness of support cells in the inner ear that normally help amplify incoming sound waves. They showed that inner ear support cells lacking functional
GAS2 lose their amplifier abilities, causing severe hearing impairment in mice. The researchers also identified people who have
GAS2 mutations and severe hearing loss.