biomedicines Review Targeting Alternative Splicing as a Potential Therapy for Episodic Ataxia Type 2 1 2 2,3 4,5, Fanny Jaudon , Simona Baldassari , Ilaria Musante , Agnes Thalhammer y, Federico Zara 2,3 and Lorenzo A. Cingolani 1,4,* 1 Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy;
[email protected] 2 Unit of Medical Genetics, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genoa, Italy;
[email protected] (S.B.);
[email protected] (I.M.);
[email protected] (F.Z.) 3 Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, 16126 Genoa, Italy 4 Center for Synaptic Neuroscience and Technology, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), 16132 Genoa, Italy;
[email protected] 5 IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genoa, Italy * Correspondence:
[email protected] Present address: SISSA-Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, 34136 Trieste, Italy. y Received: 21 August 2020; Accepted: 4 September 2020; Published: 5 September 2020 Abstract: Episodic ataxia type 2 (EA2) is an autosomal dominant neurological disorder characterized by paroxysmal attacks of ataxia, vertigo, and nausea that usually last hours to days. It is caused by loss-of-function mutations in CACNA1A, the gene encoding the pore-forming α1 subunit of P/Q-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. Although pharmacological treatments, such as acetazolamide and 4-aminopyridine, exist for EA2, they do not reduce or control the symptoms in all patients. CACNA1A is heavily spliced and some of the identified EA2 mutations are predicted to disrupt selective isoforms of this gene. Modulating splicing of CACNA1A may therefore represent a promising new strategy to develop improved EA2 therapies.