The aim of this thesis was to investigate the feasibility of multimodal visualization techniques to observe adult stem cells, in particular HFBSCs, in the living animal. Due to the novelty of... Show moreThe aim of this thesis was to investigate the feasibility of multimodal visualization techniques to observe adult stem cells, in particular HFBSCs, in the living animal. Due to the novelty of HFBSCs in the field of inner ear research, a series of proof-of-principle experiments have been undertaken to investigate if these cells can undergo neuronal differentiation, tolerate genetic modification with lentiviral constructs containing the genes coding for reporter proteins, and tolerate subsequent loading with nanoparticles in vitro. In addition, it was of importance to examine if HFBSCs do integrate into modiolar tissue and if they can be visualized in the cochlea of the guinea pig. Lastly, we performed in vivo studies to investigate the ototoxic effect of ouabain in guinea pigs and the behavior of HFBSCs in mice with traumatic brain injury. Show less
