A free intravesicular C-terminal of otoferlin is essential for synaptic vesicle docking and fusion at auditory inner hair cell ribbon synapses

Our understanding of how otoferlin, the major calcium sensor in inner hair cells (IHCs) synaptic transmission, contributes to the overall dynamics of synaptic vesicle (SV) trafficking remains limited. To address this question, we generated a knock-in mouse model expressing an otoferlin-GFP protein, where GFP was fused to its C-terminal transmembrane domain. Similar to the wild type protein, the GFP-tagged otoferlin showed normal expression and was associated with IHC SV. Surprisingly, while the heterozygote Otof ^+/GFP mice exhibited a normal hearing function, homozygote Otof ^GFP/GFP mice were profoundly deaf attributed to severe reduction in SV exocytosis. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching revealed a markedly increased mobile fraction of the otof-GFP-associated SV in Otof ^GFP/GFP IHCs. Correspondingly, 3D-electron tomographic of the ribbon synapses indicated a reduced density of SV attached to the ribbon active zone. Collectively, these results indicate that otoferlin requires a free intravesicular C-terminal end for normal SV docking and fusion.