Rachel A. Heuer, Kevin T. Nella, Hsiang Tsun Chang, Kyle S. Coots, Andrew M. Oleksijew, Christian B. Roque, Luisa H.A. Silva, Tammy L. McGuire, Kazuaki Homma, and Akihiro J. Matsuoka
Background
Although inner ear stem cell replacement therapies are a promising potential method to support regeneration of spiral ganglion neurons, transplanted cells must be characterized to ensure they maintain the proper otic neuronal progenitor (ONP) characteristics and a system must be developed for transplant to the inner ear with minimum stress on the cells Here, we develop three dimensional (3D) ONP spheroids for transplant and establish a micropipette based transfer system to efficiently transplant ONP spheroids to the inner ear at a suitable stage of development.