Structural changes in hair cells after incubation in tissue culture medium

A great deal of work is presently being pursued with in vitro preparations of isolated single hair cells or isolated segments of the cochlear sensory surface. In this study we evaluate the appearance of hair cells along the neonatal chick basilar papilla that have been freshly dissected and placed in culture medium for between one and six hours. Quantitative measures of the apical hair cell surface revealed that the number of cytoplasmic protrusions was minimal and that surface area was well preserved in the one and three hour samples. By 6 h, the proportion of hair cells showing cytoplasmic protrusions significantly increased, as did the surface area of the hair cells. In this preparation, it appears that physiologic studies can be conducted on cells with a healthy appearance for at least 3 h after sacrifice.