Recovery of vestibular hair cells after the inner ear damage

Abstract

The vestibular hair cell recovery after transtympanic administration of gentamicin (GM) in the gerbil was examined by use of immunocytochemical labeling for calmodulin, a hair cell marker. Nine animals were treated with transtympanic injection of GM for 5 days. Three animals were killed at 1 week, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks post-treatment (PT). Another two animals were untreated for a control. Twelve sections in the central region of the utricle of each animal were used for the calmodulin labeling. Hair cells stained with antibodies to calmodulin were 25.6/section at 1 week, 34.6 at 2 weeks, 38.4 at 4 weeks PT in number. The results indicated that hair cells showed recovery in number based on immunocytochemical labeling for calmodulin.