Background of the antigen
Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder characterized by ataxia and selective neuronal cell loss. SCA is caused by the expansion of a translated CAG repeat, encoding a polyglutamine tract in SCA gene products, known as ataxins. The ataxin proteins are ubiquitously expressed in nervous tissue, but are primarily detected in cerebellum, brain stem and spinal cord in the central nervous system. Ataxin-10 is a cytoplasmic protein that belongs to the family of armadillo repeat proteins. A loss of ataxin-10 in primary neuronal cells causes increased apoptosis of cerebellar neurons. Ataxin-10 interacts with p110, an O-Linked beta-N-acetylglucosamine transferase, and may be important in the regulation of intracellular glycosylation levels and homeostasis in the brain. Spinocerebellar ataxia type 10 (SCA10) is an autosomal dominant disorder that causes cerebellar ataxia and seizures. SCA10 is caused by an expansion of an ATTCT pentanucleotide repeat in intron 9 of the ataxin-10 gene.
