Survival of neuronal tissue following xenograft implantation into the adult rat inner ear

The poor regenerative capacity of the spiral ganglion neurons of the mammalian inner ear has initiated research on how to assist the functional recovery of the injured auditory system. A possible treatment is to use a biological implant with a potential to establish central or peripheral synaptic contacts to develop into a functional auditory unit. The feasibility of this approach was tested by xenograft implantation of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons from embryonic days 13 to 14, mouse expressing either LacZ or enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) into the scala tympani of the adult rat inner ear. Transplanted DRG neurons survived in the scala tympani for a postoperative period ranging from 3 to 10 weeks, as verified by histochemical detection of LacZ, EGFP fluorescence and immunohistochemical labeling of the neuronal markers neurofilament and Thy 1.2. DRG neurons were found close to structures near the sensory epithelium (the organ of Corti) as well as adjacent to the spiral ganglion neurons with their peripheral dendrites. These results illustrate not only the survival of xenografted DRG neurons in the adult inner ear but also the feasibility of a neuronal transplantation strategy in the degenerated auditory system, thereby creating possibilities to replace spiral ganglion neurons. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.