Guo Rongrong, Ma Xiaofeng, Liao Menghui, Liu Yun, Hu Yangnan, Qian Xiaoyun, Tang Qilin, Guo Xing, Chai Renjie, Gao Xia, Tang Mingliang
Key Laboratory for Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Ministry of Education, Institute of Life Sciences, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China.
Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China.
ACS Biomater Sci Eng. 2019 Dec 9;5(12):6735-6741. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.9b01265. Epub 2019 Nov 26.
Cochlear implants are currently the most effective treatment for profound sensorineural hearing loss. However, their therapeutic effect is limited by the survival and proper physiological function of spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs), which are targeted by the cochlear implant. It is therefore critical to explore the mechanism behind the effect of electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS) on the targeted SGNs. In this work, a biocompatible cochlear implant/graphene EAS system was created by combining a cochlear implant to provide the electrically transformed sound stimulation with graphene as the conductive neural interface. SGNs were cultured on the graphene and exposed to EAS from the cochlear implant. Neurite extension of SGNs was accelerated with long-term stimulation, which might contribute to the development of growth cones. Our system allows us to study the effects of cochlear implants on SGNs in a low-cost and time-saving way, and this might provide profound insights into the use of cochlear implants and thus be of benefit to the populations suffering from sensorineural hearing loss.
人工耳蜗是目前治疗重度感音神经性听力损失最有效的方法。然而，其治疗效果受到人工耳蜗所针对的螺旋神经节神经元（SGNs）存活和正常生理功能的限制。因此，探索电声刺激（EAS）对目标SGNs作用背后的机制至关重要。在这项工作中，通过将人工耳蜗与作为导电神经界面的石墨烯相结合，创建了一种生物相容性人工耳蜗/石墨烯EAS系统，人工耳蜗提供电转换的声音刺激，石墨烯则作为导电神经界面。将SGNs培养在石墨烯上，并使其暴露于来自人工耳蜗的EAS。长期刺激可加速SGNs的神经突延伸，这可能有助于生长锥的发育。我们的系统使我们能够以低成本和节省时间的方式研究人工耳蜗对SGNs的影响，这可能为人工耳蜗的使用提供深刻见解，从而造福于感音神经性听力损失人群。
