A novel missense mutation in the C2C domain of otoferlin causes profound hearing impairment in an Omani family with auditory neuropathy.

objectivesTo identify genetic defects in an Omani family diagnosed with deafness.

methodsA cross-sectional association study was conducted at the Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Al-Khoud, Oman and the Centre of Medical Genetics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium between August 2010 and September 2014. Microsatellites markers for nine non-syndromic genes were used to genotype the defective locus using the extracted DNA from family members. Sanger sequencing method was used to identify the disease causative mutation. Eazy linkage 5.05 was used to calculate the logarithm of odds score. Lasergene suite was used to detect the mutation position, and Phyre2, SMART, Rasmol, and GOR IV were used to predict the effects of the defect on protein structure and function.

resultsThe disease was linked to markers located on chromosome-2 and covering the OTOF (DFNB9) gene. A novel missense mutation that changed nucleotide C to G at position c.1469 and consequently the amino acid Proline to Arginine (P490R) on exon 15 was detected. Protein modeling analysis revealed the impact of the mutation on protein structure and the relevant C2C domain. The mutation seems to create a new protein isoform homologous to the complement component C1q.

conclusionThese findings suggest that the mutation found in C2C domain of the OTOF gene is likely to cause deafness in the studied family reflecting the importance of C2 domains of otoferlin in hearing loss.