A Nonsense Variant in the DMD Gene Causes X-Linked Muscular Dystrophy in the Maine Coon Cat

Simple Summary Muscular dystrophy (MD) in cats is a muscular disease that can have a fatal outcome. It is often caused by variants in the DMD gene and shows an X-linked recessive mode of inheritance. Therefore, females can carry such a variant without showing clinical signs of disease and can spread the variant to their offspring. These carriers can only be identified through DNA tests. Here, we identified the variant causing MD in two Maine coon cats. Maine coons can now be screened for this variant through a DNA test. (1) Feline dystrophin-deficient muscular dystrophy (ddMD) is a fatal disease characterized by progressive weakness and degeneration of skeletal muscles and is caused by variants in the DMD gene. To date, only two feline causal variants have been identified. This study reports two cases of male Maine coon siblings that presented with muscular hypertrophy, growth retardation, weight loss, and vomiting. (2) Both cats were clinically examined and histopathology and immunofluorescent staining of the affected muscle was performed. DMD mRNA was sequenced to identify putative causal variants. (3) Both cats showed a significant increase in serum creatine kinase activity. Electromyography and histopathological examination of the muscle samples revealed abnormalities consistent with a dystrophic phenotype. Immunohistochemical testing revealed the absence of dystrophin, confirming the diagnosis of dystrophin-deficient muscular dystrophy. mRNA sequencing revealed a nonsense variant in exon 11 of the feline DMD gene, NC_058386.1 (XM_045050794.1): c.1180C > T (p.(Arg394*)), which results in the loss of the majority of the dystrophin protein. Perfect X-linked segregation of the variant was established in the pedigree. (4) ddMD was described for the first time in the Maine coon and the c.1180C>T variant was confirmed as the causal variant.

Automated summary

This study reports two cases of muscular hypertrophy, muscle degeneration, growth retardation, and weight loss in male Maine coon cats, caused by a nonsense variant in exon 11 of the feline DMD gene. The diagnosis of dystrophin-deficient muscular dystrophy was confirmed through clinical examination, histopathology, immunofluorescent staining, and mRNA sequencing.