Dataset Information

A GJA9 frameshift variant is associated with polyneuropathy in Leonberger dogs.

ABSTRACT: Many inherited polyneuropathies (PN) observed in dogs have clinical similarities to the genetically heterogeneous group of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) peripheral neuropathies in humans. The canine disorders collectively show a variable expression of progressive clinical signs and ages of onset, and different breed prevalences. Previously in the Leonberger breed, a variant highly associated with a juvenile-onset PN was identified in the canine orthologue of a CMT-associated gene. As this deletion in ARHGEF10 (termed LPN1) does not explain all cases, PN in this breed may encompass variants in several genes with similar clinical and histopathological features.A genome-wide comparison of 173 k SNP genotypes of 176 cases, excluding dogs homozygous for the ARHGEF10 variant, and 138 controls, was carried out to detect further PN-associated variants. A single suggestive significant association signal on CFA15 was found. The genome of a PN-affected Leonberger homozygous for the associated haplotype was sequenced and variants in the 7.7 Mb sized critical interval were identified. These variants were filtered against a database of variants observed in 202 genomes of various dog breeds and 3 wolves, and 6 private variants in protein-coding genes, all in complete linkage disequilibrium, plus 92 non-coding variants were revealed. Five of the coding variants were predicted to have low or moderate effect on the encoded protein, whereas a 2 bp deletion in GJA9 results in a frameshift of high impact. GJA9 encodes connexin 59, a connexin gap junction family protein, and belongs to a group of CMT-associated genes that have emerged as important components of peripheral myelinated nerve fibers. The association between the GJA9 variant and PN was confirmed in an independent cohort of 296 cases and 312 controls. Population studies showed a dominant mode of inheritance, an average age of onset of approximately 6 years, and incomplete penetrance.This GJA9 variant represents a highly probable candidate variant for another form of PN in Leonberger dogs, which we have designated LPN2, and a new candidate gene for CMT disease. To date, approximately every third PN-diagnosed Leonberger dog can be explained by the ARHGEF10 or GJA9 variants, and we assume that additional genetic heterogeneity in this condition exists in the breed.

SUBMITTER: Becker D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5574090 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

A GJA9 frameshift variant is associated with polyneuropathy in Leonberger dogs.

Becker Doreen D Minor Katie M KM Letko Anna A Ekenstedt Kari J KJ Jagannathan Vidhya V Leeb Tosso T Shelton G Diane GD Mickelson James R JR Drögemüller Cord C

BMC genomics 20170825 1

<h4>Background</h4>Many inherited polyneuropathies (PN) observed in dogs have clinical similarities to the genetically heterogeneous group of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) peripheral neuropathies in humans. The canine disorders collectively show a variable expression of progressive clinical signs and ages of onset, and different breed prevalences. Previously in the Leonberger breed, a variant highly associated with a juvenile-onset PN was identified in the canine orthologue of a CMT-associated gene. ...[more]

PMID: 28841859

Similar Datasets

Project description:Horses belong to the order Perissodactyla and bear the majority of their weight on their third toe; therefore, tremendous force is applied to each hoof. An inherited disease characterized by a phenotype restricted to the dorsal hoof wall was identified in the Connemara pony. Hoof wall separation disease (HWSD) manifests clinically as separation of the dorsal hoof wall along the weight-bearing surface of the hoof during the first year of life. Parents of affected ponies appeared clinically normal, suggesting an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. A case-control allelic genome wide association analysis was performed (ncases = 15, ncontrols = 24). Population stratification (λ = 1.48) was successfully improved by removing outliers (ncontrols = 7) identified on a multidimensional scaling plot. A genome-wide significant association was detected on chromosome 8 (praw = 1.37x10-10, pgenome = 1.92x10-5). A homozygous region identified in affected ponies spanned from 79,936,024-81,676,900 bp and contained a family of 13 annotated SERPINB genes. Whole genome next-generation sequencing at 6x coverage of two cases and two controls revealed 9,758 SNVs and 1,230 indels within the ~1.7-Mb haplotype, of which 17 and 5, respectively, segregated with the disease and were located within or adjacent to genes. Additional genotyping of these 22 putative functional variants in 369 Connemara ponies (ncases = 23, ncontrols = 346) and 169 horses of other breeds revealed segregation of three putative variants adjacent or within four SERPIN genes. Two of the variants were non-coding and one was an insertion within SERPINB11 that introduced a frameshift resulting in a premature stop codon. Evaluation of mRNA levels at the proximal hoof capsule (ncases = 4, ncontrols = 4) revealed that SERPINB11 expression was significantly reduced in affected ponies (p<0.001). Carrier frequency was estimated at 14.8%. This study describes the first genetic variant associated with a hoof wall specific phenotype and suggests a role of SERPINB11 in maintaining hoof wall structure.

Dataset Information

A GJA9 frameshift variant is associated with polyneuropathy in Leonberger dogs.

Publications

A GJA9 frameshift variant is associated with polyneuropathy in Leonberger dogs.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets