Henriëtte E. Booij-Vrieling

We investigated a hereditary syndrome in Cane Corso dogs. Affected dogs developed dental-skeletal-retinal anomaly (DSRA), clinically characterized by brittle, discolored, translucent teeth, disproportionate growth and progressive retinal degeneration resulting in vision loss. Combined linkage and homozygosity mapping delineated a 5.8 Mb critical interval. The comparison of whole genome sequence data of an affected dog to 789 control genomes revealed a private homozygous splice region variant in the critical interval. It affected the MIA3 gene encoding the MIA SH3 domain ER export factor 3, which has an essential role in the export of collagen and other secreted proteins. The identified variant, XM_005640835.3:c.3822+3_3822+4del, leads to skipping of two exons from the wild type transcript, XM_005640835.3:r.3712_3822del. Genotypes at the variant were consistent with monogenic autosomal recessive mode of inheritance in a complete family and showed perfect genotype-phenotype association in 18 affected and 22 unaffected Cane Corso dogs. MIA3 variants had previously been shown to cause related phenotypes in humans and mice. Our data in dogs together with the existing functional knowledge of MIA3 variants in other mammalian species suggest the MIA3 splice defect and a near complete loss of gene function as causative molecular pathomechanism for the DSRA phenotype in the investigated dogs.

Booij‐Vrieling HE, Ferbus D, Tryfonidou MA, Riemers FM, Penning LC, Berdal A, Everts V, Hazewinkel HAW. Increased vitamin D‐driven signalling and expression of the vitamin D receptor, MSX2, and RANKL in tooth resorption in cats. Eur J Oral Sci 2010; 118: 39–46. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation© 2010 Eur J Oral SciTooth resorption occurs in 20–75% of cats (Felis catus). The aetiology is not known, but vitamin D is suggested to be involved. Vitamin D acts through a nuclear receptor (VDR) and increases the expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor‐κB ligand (rankl) and muscle segment homeobox 2 (msx2) genes. Mice lacking the muscle segment homeobox 2 (msx2) gene show decreased levels of rankl, suggesting an interaction among VDR, MSX2, and RANKL. Here, we investigated the expression of VDR, MSX2, and RANKL proteins, and the activity of the VDR‐mediated signalling pathway (using the quantitative polymerase chain reaction on VDR target genes), in tooth resorption, and measured the serum levels of vitamin D metabolites in cats. Tooth resorption was categorized into either resorptive or reparative stages. In the resorptive stage, odontoclasts expressed MSX2 and RANKL (100% and 88%, respectively) and fibroblasts expressed VDR and MSX2 (both at 100%), whereas fibroblasts expressed RANKL in only 29% of the sites analysed. In the reparative stage, cementoblasts expressed VDR, MSX2, and RANKL, whereas fibroblasts expressed VDR and MSX2, but not RANKL. The vitamin D status did not differ between the groups, based on the serum levels of 25‐hydroxycholecalciferol. However, increased expression of VDR protein, and the relative gene expression levels of 1α‐hydroxylase and the VDR‐target gene, 24‐hydroxylase, indicated the involvement of an active vitamin D signalling in the pathophysiology of tooth resorption in cats.