Chicken utricle stromal cell-derived decellularized extracellular matrix coated nanofibrous scaffolds promote auditory cell production.

Stem cell therapy has a broad future in treating sensorineural hearing loss in mammals. But how to produce sufficient functional auditory cells including hair cells, supporting cells as well as spiral ganglion neurons from potential stem cells is the bottleneck. In this study, we aimed to simulate inner ear development microenvironment to induce inner ear stem cells to differentiate into auditory cells. The different mass ratios of poly-l-lactic acid/gelatin (PLLA/Gel) scaffolds were fabricated by electrospinning technology to mimic the structure of the native cochlear sensory epithelium. The chicken utricle stromal cells were isolated and cultured, and then seeded on the PLLA/Gel scaffolds. The chicken utricle stromal cell-derived decellularized extracellular matrix (U-dECM)-coated PLLA/Gel bioactive nanofiber scaffolds (U-dECM/PLLA/Gel) were prepared by decellularization. The U-dECM/PLLA/Gel scaffolds were used for culture of inner ear stem cells, and the effects of the modified scaffolds on the differentiation of inner ear stem cells were analyzed by RT-PCR and immunofluorescent staining. The results showed that U-dECM/PLLA/Gel scaffolds possessed good biomechanical properties can significantly promote the differentiation of inner ear stem cells and make them differentiate into auditory cells. Collectively, these findings indicated that U-dECM-coated biomimetic nanomaterials may be a promising strategy for auditory cell production.