Isolation of cochlear outer hair cells from guinea pigs by trypsin

Objective:To obtain isolated outer hair cells from guinea pigs,by trypsin digestion and mechanical agitation.Methods:Guinea pig was decapitated and the temporal bone was quickly removed.Then the lateral wall of the cochlea was removed.The 3 rd and the 4 th turn of the organ of Corti were dissected out under a dissection microscope.Single cells were obtained by digestion with trypsin and gentle mechanical agitation.Results:The isolated outer hair cells were observed under inverse microscope.Forty to fifty single outer hair cells were obtain from each ear and most of them could survive for more than 5 hours.Conclusion:This technique can provide sufficient numbers of solitary OHCs for electrophysiological studies of the cell's membrane properties.