image: These are confocal images of spiral ganglion neurites co-cultured with neurotrophin-producing fibroblasts. As above, neurites were immunostained for neurofilament 200 (Texas Red) and FITC phalloidin was used to visualize actin in non-neuronal cells (green) under co-culture condition, spiral ganglion neurites appeared thicker in the presence of neurotrophin-producing fibroblasts. NT-3: Neurotrophin-3; BDNF: brain-derived neurotrophic factor. view more
Credit: <i>Neural Regeneration Research</i>
Cochlear implants, electrical prosthetic devices that stimulate inner ear neurons of individuals who have lost their cochlear sensory cells, restore usable hearing to deaf patients. Cochlear implant electrodes are placed in the fluid-filled scala tympani of the cochlea, at a significant distance from the spiral ganglion and even from the spiral ganglion dendrites. Stimulation via a cochlear implant electrode pair is therefore likely to activate large numbers of neurons concurrently. This may decrease the resolution and dynamic range of information transmitted in patients with cochlear implants. The low precision of electrical neural activation, compared to the precise activation that occurs in the normal cochlea, may explain why increasing the number of electrodes on a cochlear implant beyond 8–10 does not improve functionality.However, if cochlear neurons could be induced to extend neurites toward a cochlear implant, it might be possible to stimulate more discrete subpopulations, and to increase the resolution of the device. Prof. Allen F. Ryan and colleagues from University of California exposed spiral ganglion explants from neonatal rats to soluble neurotrophins, cells transfected to secrete neurotrophins, and/or collagen gels. Researchers found that cochlear neurites grew readily on collagen surfaces and in three-dimensional collagen gels. Co-culture with cells producing neurotrophin-3 resulted in increased numbers of neurites, and neurites that were longer than when explants were cultured with control fibroblasts stably transfected with green fluorescent protein. It is suggested that extracellular matrix molecule gels and cells transfected to produce neurotrophins offer an opportunity to attract spiral ganglion neurites toward a cochlear implant. These findings were published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No. 17, 2013).
Article: " Neurotrophins differentially stimulate the growth of cochlear neurites on collagen surfaces and in gels," by Joanna Xie1, Kwang Pak1, Amaretta Evans1, Andy Kamgar-Parsi1, Stephen Fausti2, Lina Mullen1, Allen Frederic Ryan1, 3 (1 Department of Surgery/Otolaryngology, School of Medicine and Veterans Administration Medical Center, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093-0666, USA; 2 National Center for Research on Auditory Rehabilitation, Portland VA Medical Center, Portland, OR, USA; 3 Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine and Veterans Administration Medical Center, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093-0666, USA)
Xie J, Pak K, Evans A, Kamgar-Parsi A, Fausti S, Mullen L, Ryan AF. Neurotrophins differentially stimulate the growth of cochlear neurites on collagen surfaces and in gels. Neural Regen Res. 2013;8(17):1541-1550.
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Journal
Neural Regeneration Research