Yin and yang of hair cells

Abstract

Neurodevelopment The sensory hair cells housed in the inner ear develop sequentially in organized rows. The progenitor cells exit the cell cycle in order and then differentiate in the opposite order. Prajapati-DiNubila et al. show that the cytokine activin A and its antagonist follistatin regulate expression of the transcription factor ATOH1 and thus of hair cell differentiation. Activin A activated expression of ATOH1, whereas follistatin reduced its expression. Similarly, follistatin signaling regulated the number of inner hair cells. eLife 10.7554/eLife.47613 (2019).