University of Iowa research has resulted in a discovery that may help physicians and other researchers to better understand normal inner ear development as well as diseases of the inner ear.

Doctoral student and lead author Jeremy S. Duncan, currently a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University, and Bernd Fritzsch, professor in the UI Department of Biology, published their results April 16 in the online edition of the journal PLOS ONE.

Fritzsch says that the latest finding builds upon previous research conducted in his lab and indicates that a particular protein transcription factor called Gata3 is necessary for normal inner ear development.

“We begin to understand the ear development puzzle and the gene we are working on is playing a major role in this puzzle,” Fritzsch says.

Duncan says that the research, conducted with mice, shows that Gata3 likely acts in concert with several other factors and is essential to promote genes that enable proper cochlear development.

“We found that Gata3 is playing a role during many steps of development, and for each of them ‘you gatta have Gata,’” Duncan says.

A molecular developmental neurobiologist, Fritzsch is internationally known for his research on the evolution of sensory neurons of the inner ear, which has provided insights into the genetic basis of hearing loss. His research program is funded by the National Institutes of Health and by a federal Small Business Innovation Research Grant for the development of neuronal tracers.

The research was supported by NIH grants #R01DC005590 (to B.F.) and #P30 DC 010362. Duncan was supported by an Evelyn Hart Watson Fellowship as well as the UI Office of the Vice President for Research and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.