Advance and Application of Single‑cell Transcriptomics in Auditory Research

Hearing loss and deafness,as a worldwide disability disease,have been troubling human beings.However,the auditory organ of the inner ear is highly heterogeneous and has a very limited number of cells,which are largely uncharacterized in depth.Recently,with the development and utilization of single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNA-seq),researchers have been able to unveil the complex and sophisticated biological mechanisms of various types of cells in the auditory organ at the single-cell level and address the challenges of cellular heterogeneity that are not resolved through by conventional bulk RNA sequencing(bulk RNAseq).Herein,we reviewed the application of scRNA-seq technology in auditory research,with the aim of providing a reference for the development of auditory organs,the pathogenesis of hearing loss,and regenerative therapy.Prospects about spatial transcriptomic scRNA-seq,single-cell based genome,and Live-seq technology will also be discussed.