Evolutionary constraints impose multiple checkpoints that block mammalian sensory hair cell regeneration (opens in new tab)

Irreversible damage to auditory hair cells is a primary etiology of sensorineural hearing loss. Across the vertebrate phylogenetic lineage, the regenerative capacity of these cells exhibits a marked decline: from robust regeneration in fish and amphibians, to functionally limited regeneration in birds, culminating in the permanent loss of this ability upon hair cell maturation in mammals. To elucidate the molecular logic underlying this evolutionary divergence and explore viable pathways for ...