Fig. 5

Transplantation of otic epithelial progenitors into the cochlea of the mouse. a The left leg of NOD/SCID mouse injected with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) formed an obvious bulge, while the right leg injected with otic epithelial progenitors (OEPs) was normal. b Location of transplanted cells in the organ of Corti corresponding to the location of native spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) (arrow). The first row of figures indicates migration of few MYO7A-positive transplanted cells to the site of resident hair cells. The second row of figures indicates the location of MYO7A-positive transplanted cells in the greater epithelial ridge (asterisk) and inner hair cell row (arrows). The third row of figures indicates migration of few cells to the site of missing inner hair cells and their differentiation into hair cell-like cells (arrows). Few transplanted cells did not differentiate into hair cells (arrowhead). c Fibers of native SGNs approaching the hair cells regenerated from transplanted cells expressing synaptophysin (SYP) (arrows). Location of differentiated cells in the organ of Corti (asterisk). d Native SGNs targeted cells migrating into the organ of Corti, and fibers positive for GluR2 lay adjacent to the basal pole of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-positive cells (arrowhead). All scale bars = 20 μm