Abstract: Objective Cisplatin of different concentrations can induce hair cell death in the cochlea. To explore if the bFGF of different concentrations prevents ciplatin induced hair cell death and the expression of caspase-9. Method Basilar membranes were cultured and the number of hair cells and the expression of caspase-9 were determined by immunofluorescent staining. Results Cisplatin of 15μg/ml induced the maximal hair cell death, when it was equal to or higher than 100ng/ml, bFGF could well prevent ciplatin induced hair cell death. Conclusions Hair cell death induced by cisplatin is concentrationdependent. BFGF can prevent ciplatin induced hair cell death, which is related to the expression of caspase-9.

Key words: Basic fibroblast growth factor, Cisplatin, Hair cell, Caspase-9