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ResearchIn-Press PreviewCell biologyNeuroscience Open Access | 10.1172/jci.insight.192155

Sex specific disruptions in PKCγ signaling in a mouse model of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 14

Sarah A. Wolfe,1 Yuliang Ma,1 Tomer M. Yaron-Barir,2 Carly Chang,1 Caila A. Pilo,1 Majid Ghassemian,3 Amanda J. Roberts,4 Sang Ryeul Lee,5 Benjamin A. Henson,6 Kristen Jepsen,6 Jared L. Johnson,2 Lewis C. Cantley,2 Susan S. Taylor,1 George Gorrie,7 and Alexandra C. Newton1

1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

2Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America

3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

4Animal Models Core Facility, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States of America

5The UCSD Transgenic Mouse Core, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

6Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

7Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Find articles by Wolfe, S. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

2Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America

3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

4Animal Models Core Facility, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States of America

5The UCSD Transgenic Mouse Core, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

6Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

7Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Find articles by Ma, Y. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

2Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America

3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

4Animal Models Core Facility, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States of America

5The UCSD Transgenic Mouse Core, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

6Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

7Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Find articles by Yaron-Barir, T. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

2Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America

3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

4Animal Models Core Facility, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States of America

5The UCSD Transgenic Mouse Core, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

6Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

7Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Find articles by Chang, C. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

2Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America

3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

4Animal Models Core Facility, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States of America

5The UCSD Transgenic Mouse Core, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

6Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

7Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Find articles by Pilo, C. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

2Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America

3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

4Animal Models Core Facility, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States of America

5The UCSD Transgenic Mouse Core, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

6Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

7Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Find articles by Ghassemian, M. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

2Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America

3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

4Animal Models Core Facility, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States of America

5The UCSD Transgenic Mouse Core, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

6Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

7Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Find articles by Roberts, A. in: PubMed | Google Scholar |

1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

2Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America

3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

4Animal Models Core Facility, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States of America

5The UCSD Transgenic Mouse Core, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

6Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

7Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Find articles by Lee, S. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

2Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America

3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

4Animal Models Core Facility, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States of America

5The UCSD Transgenic Mouse Core, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

6Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

7Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Find articles by Henson, B. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

2Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America

3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

4Animal Models Core Facility, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States of America

5The UCSD Transgenic Mouse Core, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

6Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

7Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Find articles by Jepsen, K. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

2Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America

3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

4Animal Models Core Facility, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States of America

5The UCSD Transgenic Mouse Core, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

6Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

7Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Find articles by Johnson, J. in: PubMed | Google Scholar |

1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

2Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America

3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

4Animal Models Core Facility, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States of America

5The UCSD Transgenic Mouse Core, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

6Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

7Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Find articles by Cantley, L. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

2Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America

3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

4Animal Models Core Facility, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States of America

5The UCSD Transgenic Mouse Core, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

6Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

7Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Find articles by Taylor, S. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

2Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America

3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

4Animal Models Core Facility, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States of America

5The UCSD Transgenic Mouse Core, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

6Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

7Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Find articles by Gorrie, G. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

2Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America

3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

4Animal Models Core Facility, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States of America

5The UCSD Transgenic Mouse Core, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

6Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States of America

7Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Find articles by Newton, A. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

Published April 2, 2026 - More info

JCI Insight. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.192155.
Copyright © 2026, Wolfe et al. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Published April 2, 2026 - Version history
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Abstract

Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 14 (SCA14) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease caused by mutations in the gene encoding protein kinase C gamma (PKCγ), a Ca2+/diacylglycerol (DG)-dependent serine/threonine kinase dominantly expressed in cerebellar Purkinje cells. These mutations impair autoinhibitory constraints to increase the basal activity of the kinase, resulting in deficits in the cerebellum that are not observed upon simple deletion of the gene, and severe ataxia. To better understand the impact of aberrant PKCγ signaling in disease pathology, we developed a knock-in murine model of the SCA14 mutation ΔF48 in PKCγ. This fully-penetrant mutation is severe in humans and is mechanistically informative as it has high basal activity but is unresponsive to agonist stimulation. Genetic, behavioral, and molecular testing revealed that ΔF48 PKCγ mice have ataxia-related phenotypes and an altered cerebellar phosphoproteome driven primarily by enhanced Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent Kinase II (CaMKII) signaling, effects that were more severe in male mice. Analysis of existing human data revealed that SCA14 has a significantly earlier age of onset for males compared with females. Data from this clinically relevant mutation suggested that enhanced basal activity of PKCγ is sufficient to cause ataxia and that treatment strategies to modulate aberrant PKCγ may be particularly beneficial in males.

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