Survival of neural stem cells in the cochlea.

Adult rat hippocampus-derived neural stem cells (NSCs) have been reported to have been successfully grafted in several brain regions. To evaluate the possibility of treatment of sensorineural hearing loss using NSCs, survival of NSCs in the cochlea was estimated. NSCs were grafted into newborn rat cochleas. Within 2-4 weeks of grafting to the cochlea, some NSCs survived in the cochlear cavity. Some of them had adopted the morphologies and positions of hair cells. This suggests that NSCs can adapt to the environment of the cochlea and gives hope for treatment of the damaged cochlea and sensorineural hearing loss.