Inner ear stem cells derived feeder layer promote directional differentiation of amniotic fluid stem cells into functional neurons.

Intact spiral ganglion neurons are required for cochlear implantation or conventional hearing amplification as an intervention for sensorineural hearing loss. Treatment strategies to replace the loss of spiral ganglion neurons are needed. Recent reports have suggested that amniotic fluid-derived stem cells are capable of differentiating into neuron-like cells in response to cytokines and are not tumorigenic. Amniotic fluid stem cells represent a potential resource for cellular therapy of neural deafness due to spiral ganglion pathology. However, the directional differentiation of amniotic fluid stem cells is undetermined in the absence of cytokines and the consequence of inner ear supporting cells from the mouse cochlea organ of Corti on the differentiation of amniotic fluid stem cells remains to be defined. In an effort to circumvent these limitations, we investigated the effect of inner ear stem cells derived feeder layer on amniotic fluid stem cells differentiation in vitro. An inner ear stem cells derived feeder layer direct contact system was established to induce differentiation of amniotic fluid stem cells. Our results showed that inner ear stem cells derived feeder layer successfully promoted directional differentiation of amniotic fluid stem cells into neurons with characteristics of functionality. Furthermore, we showed that Wnt signaling may play an essential role in triggering neurogenesis. These findings indicate the potential use of inner ear stem cells derived feeder layer as a nerve-regenerative scaffold. A reliable and effective amniotic fluid stem cell differentiation support structure provided by inner ear stem cells derived feeder layer should contribute to efforts to translate cell-based strategies to the clinic.