Evaluation of vascular endothelial growth factor addition in vitro on mouse inner ear progenitor cell cultures

We analyzed progenitor cell cultures of inner ear tissue from newborn mice, and found proliferating cells, morphologically differentiating cells and subpopulations of cells expressing either neuronal or glial markers. In addition, we observed the expression of fetal liver kinase-1, a receptor for the vascular endothelial growth factor in a subpopulation of the cultured cells. Consistent with the expression of fetal liver kinase-1, addition of vascular endothelial growth factor at a dose of 10 ng/ml increased the expansion rate of inner ear-derived progenitor cells. Together with other published data, these results suggest that the vascular endothelial growth factor might be involved in inducing or supporting cochlear repair processes.