Abstract
Hearing impairment is often caused by loss of auditory sensory hair cells which is irreversible in current clinical practice. The phenomenon of auditory hair cell regeneration including the recovery of hearing function is known for most vertebrates including birds. However mammals, including humans have not demonstrated the ability to regenerate lost hair cells most likely due to a lack of proliferative capacity in their sensory epithelia. Recent insights into cell cycle regulation in the mammalian hearing organ may provide a promising basis for inducing hair cell regeneration in mammals.
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