INNER EAR DEVELOPMENT
Institute for Biology and Molecular GeneticsThomas Schimmang
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Schimmang Lab
The inner ear is induced as an auditory placode
next to the developing hindbrain in vertebrates It closes to form the otic
vesicle and then undergoes a complex morphogenetic process to form the
mature sensory organ. We are interested in several aspects of the physiology
and pathofisology of the  auditory
organ, including its development and innervation, damage and degeneration
of auditory neurons and hair cells and gene transfer into the inner ear.
At the molecular level we are focussing on two large gene families, the
neurotrophins and its receptors and the Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs).
To analyse the functions of these gene families in vivo we are using avian
(chicken) and mammalian (mice) model systems. These experiments are complemented
with in vitro studies using cultures of hair cells and auditory sensory
neurons. We perform gain-of-function (viral expression, electroporation,
transgenic mice) and loss-of-function (RNAi, knock-out
mice) experiments to define the roles of several members of the neurotrophin
and FGF gene families during physiological and pathophysiologcal processes
in the inner ear. Next to these studies focussing on predefined molecules
we are performing a genome-wide screen to identify genes involved in various
important physiological processes in the inner ear, including its development,
damage processes, ageing and regeneration. This will hopefully allow us
to define additional key players which act during these processes which
may then be used to positively modulate pathophysiological processes in
the inner ear via gene transfer. Next to these studies we are now focussing
on a novel line of research which is dedicated to identify adult stem cells
in the mammalian hearing organ and to create hair cells from bone marrow-derived
mesenchymal stem cells.
Neurotrophin signalling | FGF signalling | Gene profiling |