BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhuanet) -- Trap doors and tunnels in your ears triggered by a protein from a gene named TRPA1 translate sound and movement into hearing and balance, a finding that one day may help reverse genetic deafness and restore hearing, a recent study reveals.

    "This could allow for the development of new gene therapies for deafness and balance disorders in the next five to 10 years," said neuroscientist Jeffrey Holt of the University of Virginia, who led the research.

    Holt's team found that inside the cell membrane of the hairs of the inner ear the protein forms a channel like a donut.

    "When sound strikes the protein the hole pops open like a trap door, an electrical signal is generated which is relayed to the brain for interpretation," Holt explained.

    Different structures are responsible for hearing and balance in the ear, but they both depend on the tiny hairs where the proteins reside to interpret stimulus. According to Holt the inner ear is a good candidate for gene therapy since it is isolated and scientists would not have to introduce changes to the entire body.

    The protein has both the donut structure and a spring portion that enables the hair cells to be "sensitive to movement as small as the diameter of a gold atom," Holt told LiveScience.

    Cochlear amplification, which allows the ear to be sensitive to soft tones and specific frequencies, might also result from the TRPA1 protein. The amplification could result from the channels of the protein opening and closing in unison. It's like a child on a swing set, Holt said. When a child pumps her legs alone she go to a certain height, but when she pumps in concert with someone pushing her, she can go much higher.

    Using mouse embryos as models, researchers were able to isolate the stage of development when the inner ear hairs were formed. That led to the isolation of the TRPA1 protein.

    (Agencies)