Non‐syndromic deafness can be caused by mutations in both nuclear and mitochondrial
genes. More than 50 nuclear genes have been shown to be involved in non‐syndromic …

The appearance of multicellular organisms imposed the development of several
mechanisms for cell-to-cell communication, whereby different types of cells coordinate their …

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have now identified at least 2,000 common
variants that appear associated with common diseases or related traits (http://www. genome …

Mice lacking the vesicular glutamate transporter-3 (VGLUT3) are congenitally deaf due to
loss of glutamate release at the inner hair cell afferent synapse. Cochlear delivery of …

Abstract The Hippo/Yes-associated protein (YAP) signaling pathway has been shown to be
able to maintain organ size and homeostasis by regulating cell proliferation, differentiation …

Arterial, a major determinant of breathing, is detected by chemosensors located in the
brainstem. These are important for maintaining physiological levels of in the blood and …

The advent of multicellular organisms, some 800 million years ago, necessitated the
development of mechanisms for cell-to-cell synchronization and for the spread of signals …

Autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing impairment (NSHI) is a heterogeneous
condition, for which 53 genetic loci have been reported, and 29 genes have been identified …

Eur J Clin Invest 2010; 41 (1): 103–116 Abstract Background Connexins are a family of
transmembrane proteins that are widely expressed in the human body. Connexins play an …

Gap junctions allow the exchange of ions and small molecules between adjacent cells
through intercellular channels formed by connexin proteins, which can also form functional …