Hair Cell Recovery in the Chinchilla Crista Ampullaris after Gentamicin Treatment: A Quantitative Approach

Abstract

The mechanisms for hair cell recovery were investigated after intraotic application of 50 μg gentamicin into the perilymphatic space of the superior semicircular canal of the chinchilla. Histologic evaluation of one normal group and four posttreatment groups (7, 14, 28, and 56 days) was made with light and transmission electron microscopic techniques. The numeric changes of hair cells and supporting cells was quantified with the dissector technique. At 7 and 14 days after treatment, no type I hair cells were present, and 85% and 88% of type II hair cells were lost. Supporting cells decreased to 76% at 7 days, but they recovered to 91% at 14 days. Recovery of the epithelia was evident 28 days after treatment; 83% were type II hair cells, and 3% were type I hair cells. The supporting cell number remained close to normal (86%). Between 14 and 28 days after treatment, there was an increase of 1758 of type II hair cells, representing approximately 125 new hair cells per day. At the same time interval the number of supporting cells remained near normal. These results suggest that new hair cells might be the result of supporting cell mitotic division and differentiation.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Tsue

Oesterle

Rubel

. Hair cell regeneration in the inner ear. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1994;111:281–301.

Warchol

Lambert

Goldstein

et al. Regenerative proliferation in inner ear sensory epithelia from adult guinea pigs and humans. Science 1993;259:1619–22.

Weisleder

Rubel

. Hair cell regeneration after streptomycin toxicity in the avian vestibular epithelium. J Comp Neurol 1993;331:97–110.

Tanyeri

López

Honrubia

. Histological evidence for hair cell regeneration after ototoxic cell destruction with local application of gentamicin in the chinchilla crista ampullaris. Hear Res 1995;89:194–202.

Forge

Corwin

et al. Ultrastructural evidence for hair cell regeneration in the mammalian inner ear. Science 1993;259:1616–9.

López

Honrubia

Lee

et al. Quantification of the process of hair cell loss and recovery after GM treatment. Int J Dev Neurosci. In press 1997;15:447–61.

Wersall

. Structural damage to the organ of Corti and the vestibular epithelia caused by aminoglycoside antibiotics in the guinea pig. In: Lerner

Matz

Hawkins

Jr et al. Aminoglycoside ototoxicity. Boston: Little Brown; 1981. p. 197–214.

Nevill

Forge

. Two modes of hair cell loss from the vestibular sensory epithelia of the guinea pig ear. J Comp Neurol 1995;335:405–17.

Popper

Hoxter

. Growth of a fish ear. I. Quantitative analysis of hair cell and ganglion cell proliferation. Hear Res 1984;15:133–43.

10.

Popper

Hoxter

. Growth of a fish ear. II. Locations of newly proliferated sensory hair cells in the saccular epithelium of Astronotus ocellatus. Hear Res 1990;45:33–44.

11.

Presson

Popper

. Possible precursors to new hair cells, support cells, and Schwann cells in the ear of a post-embryonic fish. Hear Res 1990;46:9–22.

12.

Baird

Torres

Schuff

. Hair cell regeneration in the bullfrog vestibular otolith organs following aminoglycoside toxicity. Hear Res 1993;65:164–74.

13.

Carranza

Castellano

López

et al. Gentamicin ototoxicity and hair cell regeneration in the crista ampullaris of Rana catesbeiana . ARO Abstracts 1994;138:35.

14.

Baird

Steyger

Schuff

. Mitotic and nonmitotic hair cell regeneration in the bullfrog vestibular otolith organs. Ann NY Acad Sci 1996;781:59–71.

15.

Rubel

Dew

Roberson

. Mammalian vestibular hair cell regeneration. Science 1995;267:701–3.

16.

Gundersen

. Stereology of arbitrary particles. A review of unbiased number and size estimators and the presentation of some new ones, in memory to William R. Thompson. J Microsc 1986;143:3–45.

17.

Lee

Kimura

. Ultrastructural changes of the vestibular sensory organs after streptomycin application on the lateral canal. Scanning Microsc 1994;8:107–24.

18.

Carranza

López

Castellano

et al. Intraotic administration of gentamicin: A new method to study ototoxicity in the crista ampullaris of the bullfrog. Laryngoscope 1997;107:137–43.

19.

Kimura

Iverson

. Selective lesions of the vestibular labyrinth. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 1988;97:577–84.

20.

Goldberg

Lysakowski

Fernandez

. Structures and function of the vestibular nerve fibers in the chinchilla and squirrel monkey. Ann NY Acad Sci 1992;656:92–107.

21.

Fernandez

Lysakowski

Goldberg

. Hair-cell counts and afferent innervation patterns in the cristae ampullares of the squirrel monkey with a comparison to the chinchilla. J Neurophysiol 1995;73:1253–69.

22.

Sobkowicz

August

Slapnick

. Epithelial repair following mechanical injury of the developing organ of Corti in culture: An electron microscopic and autoradiographic study. Exp Neurol 1992;115:44–99.