title: Transplantation and survival of mouse inner ear progenitor/stem cells in the organ of Corti after cochleostomy of hearing-impaired guinea pigs: preliminary results.
abstract: In mammals, damage to sensory receptor cells (hair cells) of the inner ear results in permanent sensorineural hearing loss. Here, we investigated whether postnatal mouse inner ear progenitor/stem cells (mIESCs) are viable after transplantation into the basal turns of neomycin-injured guinea pig cochleas. We also examined the effects of mIESC transplantation on auditory functions. Eight adult female Cavia porcellus guinea pigs (250-350 g) were deafened by intratympanic neomycin delivery. After 7 days, the animals were randomly divided in two groups. The study group (n=4) received transplantation of LacZ-positive mIESCs in culture medium into the scala tympani. The control group (n=4) received culture medium only. At 2 weeks after transplantation, functional analyses were performed by auditory brainstem response measurement, and the animals were sacrificed. The presence of mIESCs was evaluated by immunohistochemistry of sections of the cochlea from the study group. Non-parametric tests were used for statistical analysis of the data. Intratympanic neomycin delivery damaged hair cells and increased auditory thresholds prior to cell transplantation. There were no significant differences between auditory brainstem thresholds before and after transplantation in individual guinea pigs. Some mIESCs were observed in all scalae of the basal turns of the injured cochleas, and a proportion of these cells expressed the hair cell marker myosin VIIa. Some transplanted mIESCs engrafted in the cochlear basilar membrane. Our study demonstrates that transplanted cells survived and engrafted in the organ of Corti after cochleostomy.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Otorrinolaringologia (LIM32), Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: L C M
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Barboza
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Otorrinolaringologia (LIM32), Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lezirovitz
authors.affiliation: Setor de Vetores Virais, Laboratório de Genética e Cardiologia Molecular, Instituto do Coração, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Zanatta
authors.affiliation: Setor de Vetores Virais, Laboratório de Genética e Cardiologia Molecular, Instituto do Coração, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Strauss
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Mingroni-Netto
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Otorrinolaringologia (LIM32), Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oiticica
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Haddad
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Otorrinolaringologia (LIM32), Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Bento
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem; D005260:Female; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006199:Hair Cells, Auditory, Inner / Q000637:transplantation*; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000601:surgery*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009355:Neomycin; D009925:Organ of Corti / Q000601:surgery*; D011500:Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D013234:Stem Cells; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D011500:Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; D009355:Neomycin