A novel early onset spinocerebellar ataxia 13 BAC mouse model with cerebellar atrophy, tremor, and ataxic gait

Spinocerebellar ataxia 13 (SCA13) is an autosomal dominant neurological disorder caused by mutations in KCNC3. Our previous studies revealed that KCNC3 (Potassium Voltage-Gated Channel Subfamily C Member 3) mutation R423H results in an early-onset form of SCA13. Previous biological models of SCA13 include zebrafish and Drosophila but no mammalian systems. More recently, mouse models with Kcnc3 mutations presented behavioral abnormalities but without obvious pathological changes in the cerebellum, a hallmark of patients with SCA13. Here, we present a novel transgenic mouse model by bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) recombineering to express the full-length mouse Kcnc3 expressing the R424H mutation. This BAC-R424H mice exhibited behavioral and pathological changes mimicking the clinical phenotype of the disease. The BAC-R424H mice (homologous to R423H in human) developed early onset clinical symptoms with aberrant gait, tremor, and cerebellar atrophy. Histopathological analysis of the cerebellum in BAC-R424H mice showed progressive Purkinje cell loss and thinning of the molecular cell layer. Additionally, Purkinje cells of BAC-R424H mice showed significantly lower spontaneous firing frequency with a corresponding increase in inter-spike interval compared to that of wild-type mice. Our SCA13 transgenic mice recapitulate both neuropathological and behavioral changes manifested in human SCA13 R423H patients and provide an advantageous approach to understanding the role of voltage-gated potassium channel in cerebellar morphogenesis and function. This mammalian in vivo model will lead to further understanding of the R423H allelic form of SCA13 from the molecular to the behavioral level and serve as a platform for testing potential therapeutic compounds.