3D distribution of cochlear macrophages in the lateral wall of cleared cochlea

Objectives: The presence of resident macrophages in the cochlea is well known. However, the exact patterns thereof in spiral ligaments has not been discussed in previous studies. We sought to document distributions of macrophages in intact cochlea using three-dimensional imaging.Methods: Cochlea were obtained from C-X3-C Motif Chemokine Receptor 1+/GFP mice, and organ clearing was performed. Three-dimensional images of cleared intact cochlea were reconstructed using two-photon microscopy. The locations of individual macrophages were investigated using 100-