Advances in Pathophysiological Studies of Cochlear Blood-Labyrinth Barrier
ZHANG Tong
HAN Weiju
Abstract：The stria vascularis and spiral ligament are located in the lateral wall of the cochlea. The blood-laby-rinth barrier (BLB) of the stria vascularis is a well-differentiated capillary network that regulates exchanges between the blood and interstitial fluid in the cochlea. This barrier protects the inner ear from toxic substances that are produced by blood and selectively allows fluids, ions and nutrients into the cochlea. The BLB plays an important role in maintaining cochlear homeostasis. The BLB includes vascular endothelial cells (ECs), basement membrane (BM), elaborated tight and adherens junctions, pericytes (PCs), and perivascular resident macrophage-like melanocytes (PVM/Ms). Interac-tions between ECs, PVM/Ms and PCs, similar to intercellular signaling, play a vital role in controlling vascular permea-bility and providing a suitable environment for hearing function. Breakdown of normal interactions between compo-nents of the BLB participates in genetic defects, inflammation, acoustic injury and aging.
Keywords：cochleastria vascularisblood-labyrinth barrierhearing loss
Publication Date：2017-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 257-262 )