
The ear is a part of the body that’s readily accessible to gene therapy: You can inject a gene delivery vector (typically a harmless virus) and it has a good chance of staying put. But will it ferry the corrected gene into the cells of the hearing and/or vestibular organs where it’s most needed?
Back in 2015, a Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School team reported using gene therapy to restore rudimentary hearing in mice with genetic deafness. Previously unresponsive mice began jumping when exposed to abrupt loud sounds. But the vector used could get the corrected genes only into the cochlea’s inner hair cells. To really restore significant hearing, the outer hair cells need to be treated too. …