Characterization of the transcriptomes of Atoh1-induced hair cells in the mouse cochlea

Mammalian cochlea hair cells can be regenerated from the adjacent supporting cells in many ways, however, the newly hair cells are immature and without hearing function almost. The expression of Atoh1 is an important maker of the appearance of newly hair cells, many approaches of inner ear hair cells’ regeneration are concerned with the transcription factor Atoh1. However, most new HCs are immature HCs, and they do not have the function of mature HCs and eventually die a few weeks after regeneration. Thus promoting the maturation and survival of new HCs is the primary focus of HC regeneration field. We used RNA-Seq analysis to compare the differences between the transcriptomes of Atoh1 overexpression-induced new HCs and the original HCs, and to define the factors that might help to promote the maturation and survival of new HCs.