ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Comparative and Clinical Medicine
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1550617
A splice donor variant in SLAMF1 is associated with canine atopic dermatitis
Provisionally accepted
Oliver Paul Forman1*
Jamie Freyer1
Abigail Kerr2julia D Labadie1Michael Denyer1
Debbie J Gow2
Janet Alexander3Michelle Daya1Yaindrys Rodriguez Olivera4Cecilia Lozoya5Christian Leutenegger5Christian Savard4Jason T Huff1Rebecca Chodroff Foran1- 1Wisdom Panel, Science and Diagnostics, Mars Petcare, Los Angeles, United States
- 2Linneaus Veterinary Limited, Mars Veterinary Health, Livingston, United Kingdom
- 3WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
- 4Biovet Inc., Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada
- 5Antech Diagnostics (United States), Fountain Valley, California, United States
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Canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) is a common inflammatory skin condition in dogs. It is a lifelong problem which poses a significant welfare issue due to the chronic skin discomfort and pruritus (itch) experienced. Excessive scratching, licking and chewing cause self-trauma to the skin and increased risk of secondary infections. Several breeds are known to be predisposed including the Labrador Retriever, Boxer and French Bulldog, suggesting a genetic component to the condition. Our access to a very large population of dogs genotyped on a medium density single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array along with linked clinical record information allows for large-scale and highly powered genomewide association study (GWAS) analysis. In this study, over 28,000 dogs were used to look for genetic changes associated with CAD. We identified a statistically significant signal on canine chromosome 38, with a particularly strong signal in the French Bulldog breed. Whole genome resequencing revealed a provocative splice donor variant in signaling lymphocytic activation molecule 1 (SLAMF1), a transmembrane receptor with important functions in immune cells. Analysis of further genome sequences and RNA samples from the Mars Petcare Biobank confirmed the SLAMF1 splice variant as a strong causal candidate for increased risk of atopic dermatitis. The variant is present in many breeds and free-roaming dogs worldwide, suggesting the possibility of a broader contribution to CAD risk globally.
Keywords: CAD, Atopy, Dermatitis, canine, dog, allergy, Slamf1, atopic dermatitis
Received: 23 Dec 2024; Accepted: 09 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Forman, Freyer, Kerr, Labadie, Denyer, Gow, Alexander, Daya, Rodriguez Olivera, Lozoya, Leutenegger, Savard, Huff and Chodroff Foran. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Oliver Paul Forman, Wisdom Panel, Science and Diagnostics, Mars Petcare, Los Angeles, United States
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