Figure 6.

Distribution of otoferlin and ribbon synapses in low- and high-frequency adult gerbil IHCs. A, IHCs from apical and midbasal cochlear regions of the adult gerbil (P22) were immunostained for the synaptic vesicle protein otoferlin (green) and presynaptic ribbon component RIBEYE (CtBP2, red). Note that CtBP2 is exclusively localized in the basal pole of IHCs in a dot-like pattern. B, IHCs from apical and midbasal cochlear regions (P120) were immunostained for both otoferlin (green) and NF200 (red), which labeled auditory afferent fibers. Nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue). IHCs are indicated by open arrows.