Rps14 upregulation promotes inner ear progenitor proliferation and hair cell regeneration in the neonatal mouse cochlea

Sensorineural hearing loss a result from hair cell damage, which is irreversible in mammals owing to the lack of hair cell regeneration, but recent researches have shown that Lgr5⁺ supporting cells are progenitors capable of regenerating hair cells. RPS14 (ribosomal protein S14) is a 40S ribosomal subunit component and is associated with erythrocyte differentiation, and in this study, we used a novel adeno-associated virus-inner ear system to upregulate Rps14 expression in cultured hair cell progenitors and observed an enhancement on their ability to proliferate and differentiate into hair cells. Similarly, Rps14 overexpression in the mice cochlea could promote supporting cells proliferation by activating the Wnt signalling pathway. In addition, over-expressing Rps14 induced hair cells regeneration in the organ of Corti, and lineage tracing showed that the new hair cells had transformed from Lgr5⁺ progenitors. In conclusion, our analysis reveals the potential role of Rps14 in driving hair cell regeneration in mammalian.