Mapping variants in thyroid hormone transporter MCT8 to disease severity by genomic, phenotypic, functional, structural and deep learning integration

S Stefan Groeneweg F Ferdy S. van Geest M Mariano Martín (Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology) M Mafalda Dias J Jonathan Frazer C Carolina Medina-Gomez R Rosalie B. T. M. Sterenborg H Hao Wang (Division of Quantitative Sciences, Department of Oncology Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland USA) A Anna Dolcetta-Capuzzo L Linda J. de Rooij A Alexander Teumer A Ayhan Abaci E Erica L. T. van den Akker G Gautam P. Ambegaonkar C Christine M. Armour I Iiuliu Bacos P Priyanka Bakhtiani D Diana Barca A Andrew J. Bauer S Sjoerd A. A. van den Berg A Amanda van den Berge E Enrico Bertini (Research Unit of Neuromuscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Bambino Gesù Children’s Research Hospital IRCCS, Rome) I Ingrid M. van Beynum N Nicola Brunetti-Pierri D Doris Brunner M Marco Cappa (Physics Department, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy) G Gerarda Cappuccio B Barbara Castellotti C Claudia Castiglioni K Krishna Chatterjee A Alexander Chesover P Peter Christian J Jet Coenen-van der Spek I Irenaeus F. M. de Coo R Regis Coutant D Dana Craiu P Patricia Crock C Christian DeGoede K Korcan Demir C Cheyenne Dewey A Alice Dica P Paul Dimitri M Marjolein H. G. Dremmen R Rachana Dubey A Anina Enderli J Jan Fairchild J Jonathan Gallichan L Luigi Garibaldi B Belinda George E Evelien F. Gevers E Erin Greenup A Annette Hackenberg Z Zita Halász B Bianka Heinrich A Anna C. Hurst T Tony Huynh (Queensland Children’s Hospital, South Brisbane, Australia) A Amber R. Isaza A Anna Klosowska M Marieke M. van der Knoop D Daniel Konrad D David A. Koolen H Heiko Krude A Abhishek Kulkarni A Alexander Laemmle S Stephen H. LaFranchi A Amy Lawson-Yuen J Jan Lebl S Selmar Leeuwenburgh M Michaela Linder-Lucht A Anna López Martí C Cláudia F. Lorea C Charles M. Lourenço R Roelineke J. Lunsing G Greta Lyons J Jana Krenek Malikova E Edna E. Mancilla K Kenneth L. McCormick A Anne McGowan V Veronica Mericq F Felipe Monti Lora C Carla Moran K Katalin E. Muller L Lindsey E. Nicol I Isabelle Oliver-Petit L Laura Paone P Praveen G. Paul M Michel Polak F Francesco Porta F Fabiano O. Poswar C Christina Reinauer K Klara Rozenkova R Rowen Seckold T Tuba Seven Menevse P Peter Simm A Anna Simon (Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London) Y Yogen Singh M Marco Spada M Milou A. M. Stals M Merel T. Stegenga A Athanasia Stoupa G Gopinath M. Subramanian L Lilla Szeifert D Davide Tonduti S Serap Turan J Joel Vanderniet A Adri van der Walt J Jean-Louis Wémeau A Anne-Marie van Wermeskerken J Jolanta Wierzba M Marie-Claire Y. de Wit N Nicole I. Wolf M Michael Wurm F Federica Zibordi A Amnon Zung N Nitash Zwaveling-Soonawala F Fernando Rivadeneira M Marcel E. Meima D Debora S. Marks J Juan P. Nicola C Chi-Hua Chen M Marco Medici W W. Edward Visser

Abstract

Abstract Predicting and quantifying phenotypic consequences of genetic variants in rare disorders is a major challenge, particularly pertinent for ‘actionable’ genes such as thyroid hormone transporter MCT8 (encoded by the X-linked SLC16A2 gene), where loss-of-function (LoF) variants cause a rare neurodevelopmental and (treatable) metabolic disorder in males. The combination of deep phenotyping data with functional and computational tests and with outcomes in population cohorts, enabled us to: (i) identify the genetic aetiology of divergent clinical phenotypes of MCT8 deficiency with genotype-phenotype relationships present across survival and 24 out of 32 disease features; (ii) demonstrate a mild phenocopy in ~400,000 individuals with common genetic variants in MCT8; (iii) assess therapeutic effectiveness, which did not differ among LoF-categories; (iv) advance structural insights in normal and mutated MCT8 by delineating seven critical functional domains; (v) create a pathogenicity-severity MCT8 variant classifier that accurately predicted pathogenicity (AUC:0.91) and severity (AUC:0.86) for 8151 variants. Our information-dense mapping provides a generalizable approach to advance multiple dimensions of rare genetic disorders.

Article Details

Volume / Issue Vol. 16, Issue 1
Published March 12, 2025
ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher Nature Portfolio

Journal Info

Nature Communications

Nature Portfolio

ISSN: 2041-1723 Open Access Life Sciences

Authors (122)

S

Stefan Groeneweg

F

Ferdy S. van Geest

M

Mariano Martín

Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology

M

Mafalda Dias

J

Jonathan Frazer

C

Carolina Medina-Gomez

R

Rosalie B. T. M. Sterenborg

H

Hao Wang

Division of Quantitative Sciences, Department of Oncology Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland USA

A

Anna Dolcetta-Capuzzo

L

Linda J. de Rooij

A

Alexander Teumer

A

Ayhan Abaci

E

Erica L. T. van den Akker

G

Gautam P. Ambegaonkar

C

Christine M. Armour

I

Iiuliu Bacos

P

Priyanka Bakhtiani

D

Diana Barca

A

Andrew J. Bauer

S

Sjoerd A. A. van den Berg

A

Amanda van den Berge

E

Enrico Bertini

Research Unit of Neuromuscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Bambino Gesù Children’s Research Hospital IRCCS, Rome

I

Ingrid M. van Beynum

N

Nicola Brunetti-Pierri

D

Doris Brunner

M

Marco Cappa

Physics Department, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy

G

Gerarda Cappuccio

B

Barbara Castellotti

C

Claudia Castiglioni

K

Krishna Chatterjee

A

Alexander Chesover

P

Peter Christian

J

Jet Coenen-van der Spek

I

Irenaeus F. M. de Coo

R

Regis Coutant

D

Dana Craiu

P

Patricia Crock

C

Christian DeGoede

K

Korcan Demir

C

Cheyenne Dewey

A

Alice Dica

P

Paul Dimitri

M

Marjolein H. G. Dremmen

R

Rachana Dubey

A

Anina Enderli

J

Jan Fairchild

J

Jonathan Gallichan

L

Luigi Garibaldi

B

Belinda George

E

Evelien F. Gevers

E

Erin Greenup

A

Annette Hackenberg

Z

Zita Halász

B

Bianka Heinrich

A

Anna C. Hurst

T

Tony Huynh

Queensland Children’s Hospital, South Brisbane, Australia

A

Amber R. Isaza

A

Anna Klosowska

M

Marieke M. van der Knoop

D

Daniel Konrad

D

David A. Koolen

H

Heiko Krude

A

Abhishek Kulkarni

A

Alexander Laemmle

S

Stephen H. LaFranchi

A

Amy Lawson-Yuen

J

Jan Lebl

S

Selmar Leeuwenburgh

M

Michaela Linder-Lucht

A

Anna López Martí

C

Cláudia F. Lorea

C

Charles M. Lourenço

R

Roelineke J. Lunsing

G

Greta Lyons

J

Jana Krenek Malikova

E

Edna E. Mancilla

K

Kenneth L. McCormick

A

Anne McGowan

V

Veronica Mericq

F

Felipe Monti Lora

C

Carla Moran

K

Katalin E. Muller

L

Lindsey E. Nicol

I

Isabelle Oliver-Petit

L

Laura Paone

P

Praveen G. Paul

M

Michel Polak

F

Francesco Porta

F

Fabiano O. Poswar

C

Christina Reinauer

K

Klara Rozenkova

R

Rowen Seckold

T

Tuba Seven Menevse

P

Peter Simm

A

Anna Simon

Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London

Y

Yogen Singh

M

Marco Spada

M

Milou A. M. Stals

M

Merel T. Stegenga

A

Athanasia Stoupa

G

Gopinath M. Subramanian

L

Lilla Szeifert

D

Davide Tonduti

S

Serap Turan

J

Joel Vanderniet

A

Adri van der Walt

J

Jean-Louis Wémeau

A

Anne-Marie van Wermeskerken

J

Jolanta Wierzba

M

Marie-Claire Y. de Wit

N

Nicole I. Wolf

M

Michael Wurm

F

Federica Zibordi

A

Amnon Zung

N

Nitash Zwaveling-Soonawala

F

Fernando Rivadeneira

M

Marcel E. Meima

D

Debora S. Marks

J

Juan P. Nicola

C

Chi-Hua Chen

M

Marco Medici

W

W. Edward Visser