Research Interest

Age-Related Hearing Loss (ARHL), or presbycusis, refers to the degeneration of cells associated with the blood-labyrinth barrier (BLB) and sensory hair cells in the cochlea. Age-related cellular apoptosis in the striavascularis, specifically marginal cells which is the innermost layer of the striavascularis facing endolymph, contribute to changes in the structure and biochemical components of the BLB, which further disrupts ion homeostasis in inner fluid, thereby impairs auditory transduction.Marginal cell plays important role in cycling of K+ taken by the hair cell in the process of auditory transduction. Pathological damages in lateral wall due to aging lead to dysfunction in K+ cycling, which decreases K+ concentration in endolymph and furthermore affecting signal transduction mechanism of hair cell. I have studied the survival of multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPCs) in the animal cochlea and my research interestinvolves in applying stem cells to regenerate cells involved in auditory system byreplacing the damage marginal cells in the lateral wall to improve the K+recycling process in the cochlea, thus restoring the hearing of the animals.

Steven K. Juhn

Professor

 

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  • DEPARTMENT
  • COUNTRY USA