Molecular Basis of Auditory Development

Dear Colleagues,

The mammalian auditory system in tetrapods has evolved out of the vestibular system that diversified into distinct hair cells, with unique innervation of spiral ganglion neurons and reaching the cochlear nuclei for information processing. The development of the auditory system depends on sequentially active gene expression that is necessary to make distinct connections. Age-dependent loss of auditory hair cells that cannot be replaced, combined with a delayed loss of spiral ganglion neurons and cochlear nucleus neurons, results in reduced viability of hearing. We are particularly interested in understanding the activity of key transcription factors during inner ear development and exploring their ability to replace lost sensory neurons, hair cells, and neurons of central nuclei. What is the interlink between Eya1, Sox2, and various bHLH genes that interact with each other? What transcription factors are needed to initiate and guide developmental steps and interact with each other? How is the planar cell polarity interacting with the factors to build a functional hair cell? How are distinct inputs from specific hair cells converged into the central projection? How are the second-order projections formed? Our Special Issue aims to address these questions.

Prof. Bernd Fritzsch
Dr. Gabriela Pavlínková
Guest Editors

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• development
• transcription factors
• auditory system
• age-related hearing loss