Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: The neonatal cochlear epithelium harbors regenerative capacity, attributable to the transient greater epithelial ridge (GER). After injury, GER cells re-enter the cell cycle, migrate into the damaged organ of Corti, and differentiate into sensory or supporting cells in vivo ; in culture, they proliferate to form inner ear organoids. The mechanisms underlying this competence remain unclear. Here, we generated organoids from mouse GER cells and performed single-cell transcriptomics at organoid initiation. Analysis revealed extracellular matrix reorganization with prominent involvement of galectins. Pharmacological inhibition reduced organoid growth, whereas overexpression of galectin-1 or Myc enhanced growth, identifying both factors as regulators of cochlear progenitor expansion. Moreover, Myc overexpression conferred organoid-forming capacity in post-neonatal cochlear epithelial cells after hearing onset, thereby extending the time window for regenerative competence. In vivo , organ of Corti ablation induced galectin-1 upregulation and GER proliferation, suppressed by galectin-1 blockade, establishing a model to rekindle proliferative potential in mature cochlear cells.
Institutions: Stanford Medicine, Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Stanford University, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Merrimack College, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Language: English
Subfield: Sensory Systems
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: Molecular etiology of virus-induced sensorineural hearing loss, High Throughput DNA Sequencer Upgrade, Computer Cluster, Otic Guidance, Molecular basis of mammalian cochlear regeneration, Mouse and human vestibular regeneration and function, Single cell analysis of mitotic regeneration in the mouse vestibular system, Alternative splicing in the mouse inner ear at single cell resolution
OpenAlex ID: W7163885651