The potential use of bone marrow stromal cells for cochlear cell therapy.

This study investigated the potential of bone-marrow stromal cell transplantation for cell replacement therapy in the cochlea. Bone-marrow stromal cells labeled with enhanced green fluorescent protein were injected into the perilymphatic space of normal cochleae in mice. Histological analysis 2 weeks after transplantation demonstrated that transplanted cells settled within the cochlear tissues, especially in the spiral ligament and the spiral limbus, although most transplants were located in the perilymphatic space. Some of the transplanted cells expressed the cochlear gap-junction protein connexin 26. These findings indicate the potential of bone-marrow stromal cells for delivering therapeutic molecules and for the restoration of cochlear cells, particularly in the spiral ligament and the spiral limbus.