A SINE Insertion in ATP1B2 in Belgian Shepherd Dogs Affected by Spongy Degeneration with Cerebellar Ataxia (SDCA2)

Spongy degeneration with cerebellar ataxia (SDCA) is a genetically heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder with autosomal recessive inheritance in Malinois dogs, one of the four varieties of the Belgian Shepherd breed. Using a combined linkage and homozygosity mapping approach we identified an ~10.6 Mb critical interval on chromosome 5 in a Malinois family with four puppies affected by cerebellar dysfunction. Visual inspection of the 10.6 Mb interval in whole-genome sequencing data from one affected puppy revealed a 227 bp SINE insertion into the ATP1B2 gene encoding the β₂ subunit of the Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase holoenzyme (ATP1B2:c.130_131insLT796559.1:g.50_276). The SINE insertion caused aberrant RNA splicing. Immunohistochemistry suggested a reduction of ATP1B2 protein expression in the central nervous system of affected puppies. Atp1b2 knockout mice had previously been reported to show clinical and neurohistopathological findings similar to the affected Malinois puppies. Therefore, we consider ATP1B2:c.130_131ins227 the most likely candidate causative variant for a second subtype of SDCA in Malinois dogs, which we propose to term spongy degeneration with cerebellar ataxia subtype 2 (SDCA2). Our study further elucidates the genetic and phenotypic complexity underlying cerebellar dysfunction in Malinois dogs and provides the basis for a genetic test to eradicate one specific neurodegenerative disease from the breeding population in Malinois and the other varieties of the Belgian Shepherd breed. ATP1B2 thus represents another candidate gene for human inherited cerebellar ataxias, and SDCA2-affected Malinois puppies may serve as a naturally occurring animal model for this disorder.

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