[Regeneration of ciliated cells in the internal ear].

Hair cells are the mechanotranducer transforming the sound into a bioelectrical signal. Hair cell and supporting cell productions are completed during early embryonic development of the mammalian cochlea. In mammalian, after an injury, no hair cell replacement is observed, as opposed to birds, where regenerative mechanisms produce new sensory cells and restore the auditory function. However, a production of hair cells occurs in the mammalian sensory epithelium. Progenitor cells, isolated from newborn rats, proliferate and differentiate in hair cells and supporting cells. Supernumerary hair cells also arise in the cultured organ of Corti. This model is used to investigate the role of cell cycle regulator molecules and cell-cell interaction. The persistence of sensory cell progenitors in adult mammalian organ of Corti and the understanding of the mechanisms leading to the production of hair cells, in the developing cochlea, open the prospect of hair cell regeneration in the mature inner ear.