Electroacoustic Stimulation: Now and into the Future
Figure 4
Gene therapy in the cochlea. (a) Injection of adenoviral vectors (green) carrying protective genes such as neurotrophic factors into the scala media of the cochlea results in gene expression in the organ of Corti (shaded cells) and enables protection of hair cells and SGNs. Dashed rectangle shows area of the cochlea shown in (b) and (c). (b) In the normal hearing cochlea, gene expression (green) can be observed in hair cells and supporting cells of the organ of Corti. Pillar cells are shown in red (phalloidin); other supporting cells are shown in blue (calretinin). (c) In a deafened guinea pig, the organ of Corti has degenerated at the time of gene therapy resulting in reduced gene expression (green). A degenerating hair cell is shown in white (myosin VIIa), supporting cells are shown in blue (calretinin) and nerve fibres are red (neurofilament heavy chain). SM: scala media; ST: scala tympani; SV: scala vestibuli; BM: basilar membrane; OSL: osseous spiral lamina; SGNs: spiral ganglion neurons.
