Journal article
An in vitro model of developmental synaptogenesis using cocultures of human neural progenitors and cochlear explants
BA Nayagam, AS Edge, K Needham, T Hyakumura, J Leung, DAX Nayagam, M Dottori
Stem Cells and Development | MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC | Published : 2013
Open access
Abstract
In mammals, the sensory hair cells and auditory neurons do not spontaneously regenerate and their loss results in permanent hearing impairment. Stem cell therapy is one emerging strategy that is being investigated to overcome the loss of sensory cells after hearing loss. To successfully replace auditory neurons, stem cell-derived neurons must be electrically active, capable of organized outgrowth of processes, and of making functional connections with appropriate tissues. We have developed an in vitro assay to test these parameters using cocultures of developing cochlear explants together with neural progenitors derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). We found that these neural prog..
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Funding Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. Aurore Brugeaud for her assistance teaching the early postnatal cochlear denervation dissection, and Ms. Ricki Minter and Ms Rachael Sheridan for their technical laboratory support. We also thank Professors David Ryugo, Ed Rubel, Remy Pujol, and Peter Thorne for helpful discussions regarding the interpretation of experimental data and Dr. Clare Parish for her collaboration and provision of reagents. We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the following organizations: the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, the Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation, the Friedreich Ataxia Research Association, the University of Melbourne: Departments of Otolaryngology, Pharmacology and the Centre for Neuroscience, and the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital.