VNtyper enables accurate alignment-free genotyping of MUC1 coding VNTR using short-read sequencing data in autosomal dominant tubulointerstitial kidney disease

The human genome comprises approximately 3% of tandem repeats with variable length (VNTR), a few of which have been linked to human rare diseases. Autosomal dominant tubulointerstitial kidney disease—MUC1 (ADTKD-MUC1) is caused by specific frameshift variants in the coding VNTR of the MUC1 gene. Calling variants from VNTR using short-read sequencing (SRS) is challenging due to poor read mappability. We developed a computational pipeline, VNtyper, for reliable detection of MUC1 VNTR pathogenic variants and demonstrated its clinical utility in two distinct cohorts: (1) a historical cohort including 108 families with ADTKD and (2) a replication naive cohort comprising 2,910 patients previously tested on a panel of genes involved in monogenic renal diseases. In the historical cohort all cases known to carry pathogenic MUC1 variants were re-identified, and a new 25bp-frameshift insertion in an additional mislaid family was detected. In the replication cohort, we discovered and validated 30 new patients.