FIG. 3.

Transplanted ESCs survived at several other locations in ouabain-exposed cochleas. All sections except the one in E were obtained from early post-injury cochleas 3–4 weeks after ESC transplantation. A A radial section through the basal organ of Corti shows an ESC mass (arrow) in the perilymphatic space of the scala vestibuli (SV) adjacent to the suprastrial (SS) area. B A mass of grafted ESCs (arrow) survived in the perilymphatic space above RC within the SV. Bony defects (arrowheads) caused by the injection pipette are evident on both the SV and scala tympani (ST) sides. There was a large amount of cell debris with some surviving ESCs (white arrows) outside the RW membrane. C ESCs were seen within the SV in the apical turn. D ESCs (arrow) were present within the perilymphatic space outside the vestibular duct. E Radial section through the basal turn showing the lateral wall of a normal gerbil cochlea. F, G Surviving ESCs (asterisk) are present between Reissner’s membrane (RM) and the SS region in the basal turn. SM scala media, St.V stria vascularis, la lateral ampulla, u utricle. Scale bar = 50 μm.