Heterozygous Missense Pathogenic Variants Within the Second Spectrin Repeat of SPTBN2 Lead to Infantile-Onset Cerebellar Ataxia

The term spinocerebellar ataxia encompasses a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders due to pathogenic variants in more than 100 genes, underlying 2 major groups of ataxia: autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxias (ADCA, also known as spinocerebellar ataxias [SCAs]) due to heterozygous variants or polyglutamine triplet expansions leading to adult-onset ataxia, and autosomal recessive spinocerebellar ataxias (ARCAs, also known as SCARs) due to biallelic variants, usually resulting in more severe and earlier-onset cerebellar ataxia. Certain ataxia genes, including SPTBN2 which encodes β-III spectrin, are responsible for both SCA and SCAR, depending on whether the pathogenic variant occurs in a monoallelic or biallelic state, respectively. Accordingly, 2 major phenotypes have been linked to SPTBN2: pathogenic heterozygous in-frame deletions and missense variants result in an adult-onset, slowly progressive ADCA (SCA5) through a dominant negative effect, whereas biallelic loss-of-function variants cause SCAR14, an allelic disorder characterized by infantile-onset cerebellar ataxia and cognitive impairment. Of note, 2 heterozygous missense variants (c.1438C>T, p.R480 W; c.1309C>G, p.R437G), both lying in the second spectrin repeat of SPTBN2, have been linked to infantile-onset cerebellar ataxia, similar to SCAR14. Here, we report a novel de novo heterozygous pathogenic missense variant (c.1310G>A) in SPTBN2 in a child with infantile-onset cerebellar ataxia and mild cognitive impairment. This variant affects the same R437 residue of the second spectrin repeat but results in a different amino acid change (p.R437Q). We review previously reported cases and discuss possible pathomechanisms responsible for the early-onset cerebellar phenotype due to disease-causing variants in the second spectrin repeat.