Chemical Screening for Hair Cell Loss and Protection in the Zebrafish Lateral Line

The study used the zebrafish lateral line system to screen for compounds that induce or protect against hair cell loss, identifying 21 compounds that caused hair cell death and two compounds, PROTO1 and PROTO2, that protected against neomycin-induced damage. These findings demonstrated the zebrafish model's potential for identifying ototoxic drugs and protective agents, suggesting clinical applications for hearing protection. The research emphasized the need for standardized drug screening to prevent hearing loss and further exploration of drug delivery methods and protective pathways.