Vesicle sub-pool organization at inner hair cell ribbon synapses.

ABSTRACT: The afferent inner hair cell synapse harbors the synaptic ribbon, which ensures a constant vesicle supply. Synaptic vesicles (SVs) are arranged in morphologically discernable pools, linked via filaments to the ribbon or the presynaptic membrane. We propose that filaments play a major role in SV resupply and exocytosis at the ribbon. Using advanced electron microscopy, we demonstrate that SVs are organized in sub-pools defined by the filament number per vesicle and its connections. Upon stimulation, SVs increasingly linked to other vesicles and to the ribbon, whereas single-tethered SVs dominated at the membrane. Mutant mice for the hair cell protein otoferlin (pachanga, OtofPga/Pga ) are profoundly deaf with reduced sustained release, serving as a model to investigate the SV replenishment

SUBMITTER: Chakrabarti R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6216280 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature