J Am Acad Audiol 2021; 32(10): 636-645
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1728677
Review Article
Special Issue on Hearing Therapeutics and Protective Therapies

Advancements in Stem Cell Technology and Organoids for the Restoration of Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Jenna E. Bergman*
1   Department of Otolaryngology, Cochlear Implant and Hearing Research Laboratory, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
,
Camron Davies*
1   Department of Otolaryngology, Cochlear Implant and Hearing Research Laboratory, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
,
Alexa J. Denton
1   Department of Otolaryngology, Cochlear Implant and Hearing Research Laboratory, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
,
Peter E. Ashman
1   Department of Otolaryngology, Cochlear Implant and Hearing Research Laboratory, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
,
Rahul Mittal
1   Department of Otolaryngology, Cochlear Implant and Hearing Research Laboratory, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
,
Adrien A. Eshraghi
1   Department of Otolaryngology, Cochlear Implant and Hearing Research Laboratory, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
2   Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
3   Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Miami, Florida
4   Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Background Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a significant cause of morbidity worldwide and currently has no curative treatment. Technological advancements in stem cell therapy have led to numerous studies that examine the generation of otic sensory cells from progenitors to restore inner ear function. Recently, organoids have emerged as a promising technique to further advance the process of creating functional replacement cells after irreversible hearing loss. Organoids are the three-dimensional generation of stem cells in culture to model the tissue organization and cellular components of the inner ear. Organoids have emerged as a promising technique to create functioning cochlear structures in vitro and may provide crucial information for the utilization of stem cells to restore SNHL.

Purpose The purpose of this review is to discuss the recent advancements in stem cell-based regenerative therapy for SNHL.

Results Recent studies have improved our understanding about the developmental pathways involved in the generation of hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons. However, significant challenges remain in elucidating the molecular interactions and interplay required for stem cells to differentiate and function as otic sensory cells. A few of the challenges encountered with traditional stem cell therapy may be addressed with organoids.

Conclusion Stem cell-based regenerative therapy holds a great potential for developing novel treatment modalities for SNHL. Further advancements are needed in addressing the challenges associated with stem cell-based regenerative therapy and promote their translation from bench to bedside.

Disclaimer

Any mention of a product, service, or procedure in the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology does not constitute an endorsement of the product, service, or procedure by the American Academy of Audiology.


* These authors contributed equally to this work.




Publication History

Received: 16 November 2020

Accepted: 15 December 2020

Article published online:
25 May 2021

© 2022. American Academy of Audiology. This article is published by Thieme.

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA

 
  • References

  • 1 Lopez-Juarez A, Lahlou H, Ripoll C. et al. Engraftment of human stem cell-derived otic progenitors in the damaged cochlea. Mol Ther 2019; 27 (06) 1101-1113
  • 2 Chang HT, Heuer RA, Oleksijew AM. et al. An engineered three-dimensional stem cell niche in the inner ear by applying a nanofibrillar cellulose hydrogel with a sustained-release neurotrophic factor delivery system. Acta Biomater 2020; 108: 111-127
  • 3 Azadeh J, Song Z, Laureano AS, Toro-Ramos A, Kwan K. Initiating differentiation in immortalized multipotent otic progenitor cells. J Vis Exp 2016; (107) e53692
  • 4 Tang PC, Hashino E, Nelson RF. Progress in modeling and targeting inner ear disorders with pluripotent stem cells. Stem Cell Reports 2020; 14 (06) 996-1008
  • 5 Roccio M, Edge ASB. Inner ear organoids: new tools to understand neurosensory cell development, degeneration and regeneration. Development 2019; b 146 (17) dev177188
  • 6 Warnecke A, Mellott AJ, Römer A, Lenarz T, Staecker H. Advances in translational inner ear stem cell research. Hear Res 2017; 353: 76-86
  • 7 Zhang L, Hu J, Athanasiou KA. The role of tissue engineering in articular cartilage repair and regeneration. Crit Rev Biomed Eng 2009; 37 (1-2): 1-57
  • 8 Nyberg S, Abbott NJ, Shi X, Steyger PS, Dabdoub A. Delivery of therapeutics to the inner ear: the challenge of the blood-labyrinth barrier. Sci Transl Med 2019; 11 (482) 935
  • 9 Choi MY, Yeo SW, Park KH. Hearing restoration in a deaf animal model with intravenous transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells derived from human umbilical cord blood. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2012; 427 (03) 629-636
  • 10 Chen W-W, Zhang X, Huang W-J. Role of neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative diseases (Review). Mol Med Rep 2016; 13 (04) 3391-3396
  • 11 Kim KH, Jo JH, Cho HJ, Park TS, Kim TM. Therapeutic potential of stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles in osteoarthritis: preclinical study findings. Lab Anim Res 2020; 36: 10
  • 12 Liang X, Ding Y, Zhang Y, Tse HF, Lian Q. Paracrine mechanisms of mesenchymal stem cell-based therapy: current status and perspectives. Cell Transplant 2014; 23 (09) 1045-1059
  • 13 Hu C-H, Tseng Y-W, Chiou C-Y. et al. Bone marrow concentrate-induced mesenchymal stem cell conditioned medium facilitates wound healing and prevents hypertrophic scar formation in a rabbit ear model. Stem Cell Res Ther 2019; 10 (01) 275
  • 14 Scheper V, Hoffmann A, Gepp MM. et al. Stem cell based drug delivery for protection of auditory neurons in a Guinea Pig model of cochlear implantation. Front Cell Neurosci 2019; 13: 177
  • 15 Roemer A, Köhl U, Majdani O. et al. Biohybrid cochlear implants in human neurosensory restoration. Stem Cell Res Ther 2016; 7 (01) 148
  • 16 Perny M, Ting C-C, Kleinlogel S, Senn P, Roccio M. Generation of otic sensory neurons from mouse embryonic stem cells in 3D culture. Front Cell Neurosci 2017; 11: 409
  • 17 Matsuoka AJ, Morrissey ZD, Zhang C. et al. Directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cells toward placode-derived spiral ganglion-like sensory neurons. 2017; 6: 923-936
  • 18 Zhong C, Chen Z, Luo X. et al. Barhl1 is required for the differentiation of inner ear hair cell-like cells from mouse embryonic stem cells. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2018; 96: 79-89
  • 19 Chen W, Jongkamonwiwat N, Abbas L. et al. Restoration of auditory evoked responses by human ES-cell-derived otic progenitors. Nature 2012; 490 (7419): 278-282
  • 20 Baumgartner LS, Moore E, Shook D. et al. Safety of autologous umbilical cord blood therapy for acquired sensorineural hearing loss in children. J Audiol Otol 2018; 22 (04) 209-222
  • 21 Campbell CR, Berman AE, Weintraub NL, Tang YL. Electrical stimulation to optimize cardioprotective exosomes from cardiac stem cells. Med Hypotheses 2016; 88: 6-9
  • 22 Lee HS, Kim WJ, Gong JS, Park KH. Clinical safety and efficacy of autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in sensorineural hearing loss patients. J Audiol Otol 2018; 22 (02) 105-109
  • 23 Gonmanee T, Thonabulsombat C, Vongsavan K, Sritanaudomchai H. Differentiation of stem cells from human deciduous and permanent teeth into spiral ganglion neuron-like cells. Arch Oral Biol 2018; 88: 34-41
  • 24 Chen J, Guan L, Zhu H, Xiong S, Zeng L, Jiang H. Transplantation of mouse-induced pluripotent stem cells into the cochlea for the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss. Acta Otolaryngol 2017; b 137 (11) 1136-1142
  • 25 Chen J, Hong F, Zhang C. et al. Differentiation and transplantation of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived otic epithelial progenitors in mouse cochlea. Stem Cell Res Ther 2018; b 9 (01) 230
  • 26 de Souza N. Organoids. Nat Methods 2018; 15: 23
  • 27 Roccio M, Edge ASB. Inner ear organoids: new tools to understand neurosensory cell development, degeneration and regeneration. Development 2019; a 146 (17) dev177188
  • 28 Czajkowski A, Mounier A, Delacroix L, Malgrange B. Pluripotent stem cell-derived cochlear cells: a challenge in constant progress. Cell Mol Life Sci 2019; 76 (04) 627-635
  • 29 Ogier JM, Burt RA, Drury HR, Lim R, Nayagam BA. Organotypic culture of neonatal murine inner ear explants. Front Cell Neurosci 2019; 13: 170
  • 30 Parker M, Brugeaud A, Edge AS. Primary culture and plasmid electroporation of the murine organ of Corti. J Vis Exp 2010; (36) 1685
  • 31 Kniss JS, Jiang L, Piotrowski T. Insights into sensory hair cell regeneration from the zebrafish lateral line. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2016; 40: 32-40
  • 32 Monroe JD, Rajadinakaran G, Smith ME. Sensory hair cell death and regeneration in fishes. Front Cell Neurosci 2015; 9: 131
  • 33 Kayyali MN, Wright AC, Ramsey AJ. et al. Challenges and opportunities in developing targeted molecular imaging to determine inner ear defects of sensorineural hearing loss. Nanomedicine (Lond) 2018; 14 (02) 397-404
  • 34 Chen J, Guan L, Zhu H, Xiong S, Zeng L, Jiang H. Transplantation of mouse-induced pluripotent stem cells into the cochlea for the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss. Acta Otolaryngol 2017; a 137 (11) 1136-1142
  • 35 Munnamalai V, Fekete DM. Building the human inner ear in an organoid. Nat Biotechnol 2017; 35 (06) 518-520
  • 36 Longworth-Mills E, Koehler KR, Hashino E. Generating inner ear organoids from mouse embryonic stem cells. Methods Mol Biol 2016; 1341: 391-406
  • 37 Koehler KR, Nie J, Longworth-Mills E. et al. Generation of inner ear organoids containing functional hair cells from human pluripotent stem cells. Nat Biotechnol 2017; 35 (06) 583-589
  • 38 Nie J, Hashino E. Generation of inner ear organoids from human pluripotent stem cells. Methods Cell Biol 2020; 159: 303-321
  • 39 Schaefer SA, Higashi AY, Loomis B. et al. From otic induction to hair cell production: Pax2EGFP cell line illuminates key stages of development in mouse inner ear organoid model. Stem Cells Dev 2018; 27 (04) 237-251
  • 40 Jeong M, O'Reilly M, Kirkwood NK. et al. Generating inner ear organoids containing putative cochlear hair cells from human pluripotent stem cells. Cell Death Dis 2018; 9 (09) 922
  • 41 Mattei C, Lim R, Drury H. et al. Generation of vestibular tissue-like organoids from human pluripotent stem cells using the rotary cell culture system. Front Cell Dev Biol 2019; 7: 25
  • 42 Liu XP, Koehler KR, Mikosz AM, Hashino E, Holt JR. Functional development of mechanosensitive hair cells in stem cell-derived organoids parallels native vestibular hair cells. Nat Commun 2016; 7: 11508
  • 43 Tang PC, Alex AL, Nie J. et al. Defective Tmprss3-associated hair cell degeneration in inner ear organoids. Stem Cell Reports 2019; 13 (01) 147-162
  • 44 Hughes CS, Postovit LM, Lajoie GA. Matrigel: a complex protein mixture required for optimal growth of cell culture. Proteomics 2010; 10 (09) 1886-1890
  • 45 Henley CM, Rybak LP. Ototoxicity in developing mammals. Brain Res Brain Res Rev 1995; 20 (01) 68-90
  • 46 Okano T, Kelley MW. Stem cell therapy for the inner ear: recent advances and future directions. Trends Amplif 2012; 16 (01) 4-18
  • 47 Barboza Jr LC, Lezirovitz K, Zanatta DB. et al. Transplantation and survival of mouse inner ear progenitor/stem cells in the organ of Corti after cochleostomy of hearing-impaired guinea pigs: preliminary results. Braz J Med Biol Res 2016; 49 (04) e5064
  • 48 Hildebrand MS, Dahl HH, Hardman J, Coleman B, Shepherd RK, de Silva MG. Survival of partially differentiated mouse embryonic stem cells in the scala media of the guinea pig cochlea. J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 2005; 6 (04) 341-354
  • 49 West EL, Gonzalez-Cordero A, Hippert C. et al. Defining the integration capacity of embryonic stem cell-derived photoreceptor precursors. Stem Cells 2012; 30 (07) 1424-1435
  • 50 Hu Z, Ulfendahl M, Olivius NP. Central migration of neuronal tissue and embryonic stem cells following transplantation along the adult auditory nerve. Brain Res 2004; 1026 (01) 68-73
  • 51 Regala C, Duan M, Zou J, Salminen M, Olivius P. Xenografted fetal dorsal root ganglion, embryonic stem cell and adult neural stem cell survival following implantation into the adult vestibulocochlear nerve. Exp Neurol 2005; 193 (02) 326-333
  • 52 Gökcan MK, Mülazimoğlu S, Ocak E. et al. Study of mouse induced pluripotent stem cell transplantation in to Wistar albino rat cochleae after hair cell damage. Turk J Med Sci 2016; 46 (05) 1603-1610
  • 53 Chen J, Hong F, Zhang C. et al. Differentiation and transplantation of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived otic epithelial progenitors in mouse cochlea. Stem Cell Res Ther 2018; a 9 (01) 230
  • 54 Ferguson TA, Green DR, Griffith TS. Cell death and immune privilege. Int Rev Immunol 2002; 21 (2-3): 153-172
  • 55 Eshraghi AA, Ocak E, Zhu A. et al. Biocompatibility of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in the rat inner ear following trans-tympanic administration. J Clin Med 2020; 9 (06) 9
  • 56 Prokhorova TA, Harkness LM, Frandsen U. et al. Teratoma formation by human embryonic stem cells is site dependent and enhanced by the presence of Matrigel. Stem Cells Dev 2009; 18 (01) 47-54
  • 57 Nishimura K, Nakagawa T, Sakamoto T, Ito J. Fates of murine pluripotent stem cell-derived neural progenitors following transplantation into mouse cochleae. Cell Transplant 2012; 21 (04) 763-771
  • 58 Mittal R, Nguyen D, Patel AP. et al. Recent Advancements in the regeneration of auditory hair cells and hearing restoration. Front Mol Neurosci 2017; 10: 236 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2017.00236.