Fishing for Cures

Some antibiotics and chemotherapy agents can damage hair cells in our inner ear, causing irreversible loss of hearing – a phenomenon known as ototoxicity. Searching for a solution, scientists used micro-array plates filled with young zebrafish (pictured), to test the potential of 11,000 different compounds to counter ototoxicity. Neuromasts, cells responsible for the fishes’ perception of movement in water, are similar to our hair cells, so their response to chemicals is a good indication of possible impacts on hearing. Thanks to a fluorescent dye that illuminates live neuromasts, the researchers could identify compounds that protected these cells from destruction by antibiotics. Having found a molecule with the desired effect, they recently tested a further 400 similar compounds to identify an even more promising candidate, better-suited to use as a pharmaceutical drug. Successful development could encourage a wider use of certain antibiotics that are currently avoided due to the risk of hearing loss.

Written by Emmanuelle Briolat

Emmanuelle Briolat

Writer

A researcher specialising in visual signals in Lepidoptera, camouflage and the effects of light pollution, Emmanuelle’s writing covers a range of topics, from biomedical research to children’s books about moth defences.

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• Image by Edwin Rubel, University of Washington, Seattle, USA, published in PNAS
• Clinical Research, Human Biology, and Public Health Sciences Divisions, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA
• Image copyright held by original authors; image reproduction permitted by PNAS
• Research published in Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, January 2018