Criteria Specification (CSpec) Registry is intended to provide access to the Criteria Specifications used and applied by ClinGen Variant Curation Expert Panels and biocurators in the classification of variants.
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Criteria & Strength Specifications
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PVS1 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Null variant (nonsense, frameshift, canonical +/−1 or 2 splice sites, initiation codon, single or multi-exon deletion) in a gene where loss of function (LOF) is a known mechanism of disease.
Caveats: • Beware of genes where LOF is not a known disease mechanism (e.g. GFAP, MYH7). • Use caution interpreting LOF variants at the extreme 3’ end of a gene. • Use caution with splice variants that are predicted to lead to exon skipping but leave the remainder of the protein intact. • Use caution in the presence of multiple transcripts. Stand Alone
Very Strong
CCDS VCEP notes: Loss of function (LOF) of GATM is a known mechanism of disease for guanidinoacetate methyltransferase deficiency (AGAT-D). There are examples of various LOF variants, including nonsense and frameshift, in GATM in individuals with AGAT-D (https://databases.lovd.nl/shared/variants/GATM?search_var_status=%3D%22Marked%22%7C%3D%22Public%22 ). The specifications below are based on the PVS1 decision tree (Figure 1, Abou Tayoun et al, 2018, PMID 30192042). GATM specifications: Nonsense and frameshift variants
Splice site variants (+1, +2, -1, -2)
Initiator codon variants
Deletions (single or multi exon)
Duplications
Modification Type:
None
Strong
Nonsense and frameshift variants
Splice site variants (+1, +2, -1, -2)
Initiator codon variants
Deletions (single or multi exon)
Duplications
Modification Type:
Strength
Moderate
CCDS VCEP notes: Loss of function (LOF) of GATM is a known mechanism of disease for guanidinoacetate methyltransferase deficiency (AGAT-D). There are examples of various LOF variants, including nonsense and frameshift, in GATM in individuals with AGAT-D (https://databases.lovd.nl/shared/variants/GATM?search_var_status=%3D%22Marked%22%7C%3D%22Public%22 ). The specifications below are based on the PVS1 decision tree (Figure 1, Abou Tayoun et al, 2018, PMID 30192042). GATM specifications: Nonsense and frameshift variants
Splice site variants (+1, +2, -1, -2)
Initiator codon variants
Deletions (single or multi exon)
Duplications
Modification Type:
Strength
Supporting
Not Applicable
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PS1 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Same amino acid change as a previously established pathogenic variant regardless of nucleotide change.
Example: Val->Leu caused by either G>C or G>T in the same codon. Caveat: Beware of changes that impact splicing rather than at the amino acid/protein level. Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
CCDS VCEP notes:
Modification Type:
None
Moderate
Supporting
Not Applicable
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PS2 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
De novo (both maternity and paternity confirmed) in a patient with the disease and no family history.
Note: Confirmation of paternity only is insufficient. Egg donation, surrogate motherhood, errors in embryo transfer, etc. can contribute to non-maternity. Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
Not Applicable
Comments:
De novo (both maternity and paternity confirmed) in a patient with the disease and no family history. Note: Confirmation of paternity only is insufficient. Egg donation, surrogate motherhood, errors in embryo transfer, and so on, can contribute to non-maternity.
CCDS VCEP notes for PS2 and PM6: De novo variants have not been reported in patients with AGAT deficiency, to our knowledge. Furthermore, the observation that a variant in GATM has arisen de novo does not support its causality because AGAT deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder. The occurrence of de novo variants is more supportive in autosomal dominant and X-linked disorders. Any de novo variants in GATM, should they be observed, will be assessed based on the variant type, functional evidence, and in trans data as described.
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PS3 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Well-established in vitro or in vivo functional studies supportive of a damaging effect on the gene or gene product.
Note: Functional studies that have been validated and shown to be reproducible and robust in a clinical diagnostic laboratory setting are considered the most well-established. Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
GATM specifications: Any variant meeting the description for either in vitro expression or splicing assays can meet PS3 at the strengths given below. If a variant meets the description for both e.g., a splice site variant with no evidence of abnormal splicing and deficient AGAT activity in vitro, PS3 must only be counted once. In vitro expression AGAT activity data from an in vitro assay in which GATM variants were overexpressed in HeLa cells has been published (DesRoches et al, 2016; PMID 27233232). Any variant with AGAT activity at or below 15% of normal in this paper meets PS3_Supporting (see Appendix 2 for further details on AGAT functional assays). Splicing assays For non-canonical splicing variants, use PS3 if there is RT-PCR and/or RNA sequencing evidence demonstrating only abnormal splice products, with no evidence of normal splicing.
Modification Type:
Disease-specific
Moderate
Supporting
GATM specifications: Any variant meeting the description for either in vitro expression or splicing assays can meet PS3 at the strengths given below. If a variant meets the description for both e.g., a splice site variant with no evidence of abnormal splicing and deficient AGAT activity in vitro, PS3 must only be counted once. In vitro expression AGAT activity data from an in vitro assay in which GATM variants were overexpressed in HeLa cells has been published (DesRoches et al, 2016; PMID 27233232). Any variant with AGAT activity at or below 15% of normal in this paper meets PS3_Supporting (see Appendix 2 for further details on AGAT functional assays). Splicing assays For non-canonical splicing variants, use PS3 if there is RT-PCR and/or RNA sequencing evidence demonstrating only abnormal splice products, with no evidence of normal splicing.
Modification Type:
Disease-specific
Not Applicable
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PS4 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
The prevalence of the variant in affected individuals is significantly increased compared to the prevalence in controls.
Note 1: Relative risk (RR) or odds ratio (OR), as obtained from case-control studies, is >5.0 and the confidence interval around the estimate of RR or OR does not include 1.0. See manuscript for detailed guidance. Note 2: In instances of very rare variants where case-control studies may not reach statistical significance, the prior observation of the variant in multiple unrelated patients with the same phenotype, and its absence in controls, may be used as moderate level of evidence. Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
Not Applicable
Comments:
CCDS VCEP notes for PS4:
This rule is typically used for autosomal dominant disorders, with PM3 used as a case-counting mechanism for autosomal recessive conditions.
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PM1 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Located in a mutational hot spot and/or critical and well-established functional domain (e.g. active site of an enzyme) without benign variation.
Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
Not Applicable
Comments:
Located in a mutational hot spot and/or critical and well-established functional domain (e.g., active site of an enzyme) without benign variation.
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PM2 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Absent from controls (or at extremely low frequency if recessive) in Exome Sequencing Project, 1000 Genomes or Exome Aggregation Consortium.
Caveat: Population data for indels may be poorly called by next generation sequencing. Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
Modification Type:
Strength,Disease-specific
Not Applicable
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PM3 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
For recessive disorders, detected in trans with a pathogenic variant
Note: This requires testing of parents (or offspring) to determine phase. Stand Alone
Very Strong
Consult specifications for assigning strength of evidence for PM3. GATM specifications:
Modification Type:
Strength
Strong
Consult specifications for assigning strength of evidence for PM3. GATM specifications:
Modification Type:
Strength
Moderate
Consult specifications for assigning strength of evidence for PM3. GATM specifications:
Modification Type:
None
Supporting
Not Applicable
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PM4 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Protein length changes due to in-frame deletions/insertions in a non-repeat region or stop-loss variants.
Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Modification Type:
None
Supporting
Not Applicable
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PM5 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Novel missense change at an amino acid residue where a different missense change determined to be pathogenic has been seen before.
Example: Arg156His is pathogenic; now you observe Arg156Cys. Caveat: Beware of changes that impact splicing rather than at the amino acid/protein level. Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
GATM specifications:
Modification Type:
None
Supporting
Missense change at an amino acid residue where a different missense change determined to be likely pathogenic has been seen before.
Modification Type:
Strength
Not Applicable
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PM6 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Assumed de novo, but without confirmation of paternity and maternity.
Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
Not Applicable
Comments:
CCDS VCEP notes for PS2 and PM6: De novo variants have not been reported in patients with AGAT deficiency, to our knowledge. Furthermore, the observation that a variant in GATM has arisen de novo does not support its causality because AGAT deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder. The occurrence of de novo variants is more supportive in autosomal dominant and X-linked disorders. Any de novo variants in GATM, should they be observed, will be assessed based on the variant type, functional evidence, and in trans data as described.
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PP1 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Co-segregation with disease in multiple affected family members in a gene definitively known to cause the disease.
Note: May be used as stronger evidence with increasing segregation data. Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
Not Applicable
Comments:
CCDS VCEP notes for PP1: Sibships large enough to use meet this criterion are extremely rare. In addition, because GATM is the only gene involved in AGAT-D, ALL patients are expected to be bi-allelic, regardless of whether the pathogenic variants can be, or have been, detected. A variant under assessment may not be the true pathogenic variant but instead in linkage disequilibrium with an unidentified pathogenic variant. For this reason, this criterion does not facilitate assessment of pathogenicity.
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PP2 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Missense variant in a gene that has a low rate of benign missense variation and where missense variants are a common mechanism of disease.
Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
Not Applicable
Comments:
CCDS VCEP notes for PP2:
Does not apply; there are benign and pathogenic missense variants in GATM.
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PP3 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Multiple lines of computational evidence support a deleterious effect on the gene or gene product (conservation, evolutionary, splicing impact, etc.).
Caveat: As many in silico algorithms use the same or very similar input for their predictions, each algorithm should not be counted as an independent criterion. PP3 can be used only once in any evaluation of a variant. Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Modification Type:
None
Supporting
Modification Type:
None
Not Applicable
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PP4 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Patient’s phenotype or family history is highly specific for a disease with a single genetic etiology.
Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Any combination of the data listed for PP4_Moderate and PP4. (see points scheme in main document) GATM specifications: The following table shows the weight used for PP4 depending upon the data that is available. Assign points for each type of data present, and then add up the points. PP4 = 1-2 points PP4_Moderate = 3 points PP4_Strong = 4 points Two or more data types are recommended to reach moderate and required to reach strong.
Modification Type:
Disease-specific
Moderate
Modification Type:
Strength
Supporting
Modification Type:
Disease-specific
Not Applicable
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PP5 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Reputable source recently reports variant as pathogenic, but the evidence is not available to the laboratory to perform an independent evaluation.
Not Applicable
This criterion is not for use as recommended by the ClinGen Sequence Variant Interpretation VCEP Review Committee.
PubMed : 29543229
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BA1 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Allele frequency is above 5% in Exome Sequencing Project, 1000 Genomes or Exome Aggregation Consortium.
Stand Alone
Allele frequency >0.0005 (0.05%) in gnomAD in any continental population in gnomAD with >2000 alleles. GATM specifications:
Modification Type:
Disease-specific
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
Not Applicable
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BS1 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Allele frequency is greater than expected for disorder.
Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Allele frequency >0.0001 (0.01%) in gnomAD in any continental population in gnomAD with >2000 alleles. GATM specifications:
Modification Type:
Disease-specific
Moderate
Supporting
Not Applicable
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BS2 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Observed in a healthy adult individual for a recessive (homozygous), dominant (heterozygous), or X-linked (hemizygous) disorder, with full penetrance expected at an early age.
Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Observed in the homozygous state in a healthy adult.
Modification Type:
Disease-specific
Moderate
Supporting
Not Applicable
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BS3 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Well-established in vitro or in vivo functional studies show no damaging effect on protein function or splicing.
Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
Modification Type:
Strength,Disease-specific
Not Applicable
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BS4 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Lack of segregation in affected members of a family.
Caveat: The presence of phenocopies for common phenotypes (i.e. cancer, epilepsy) can mimic lack of segregation among affected individuals. Also, families may have more than one pathogenic variant contributing to an autosomal dominant disorder, further confounding an apparent lack of segregation. Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
Not Applicable
Comments:
Lack of segregation in a family. Caveat: The presence of phenocopies for common phenotypes.
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BP1 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Missense variant in a gene for which primarily truncating variants are known to cause disease.
Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
Not Applicable
Comments:
Missense variant in a gene for which primarily truncating variants are known to cause disease.
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BP2 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Observed in trans with a pathogenic variant for a fully penetrant dominant gene/disorder or observed in cis with a pathogenic variant in any inheritance pattern.
Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
Observed in trans with a pathogenic variant for a fully penetrant dominant gene/disorder; or observed in cis with a pathogenic variant in any inheritance pattern. GATM specifications: Observed in cis with a pathogenic variant (to take AR inheritance into account).
Modification Type:
None
Not Applicable
Comments:
CCDS VCEP notes for BP1: Does not apply. All types of variants cause AGAT-D
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BP3 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
In frame-deletions/insertions in a repetitive region without a known function.
Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
Not Applicable
Comments:
In-frame deletions/insertions in a repetitive region without a known function.
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BP4 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Multiple lines of computational evidence suggest no impact on gene or gene product (conservation, evolutionary, splicing impact, etc)
Caveat: As many in silico algorithms use the same or very similar input for their predictions, each algorithm cannot be counted as an independent criterion. BP4 can be used only once in any evaluation of a variant. Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
Modification Type:
None
Not Applicable
Comments:
CCDS VCEP notes for BP3: There are no known repetitive regions without known function in GATM.
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BP5 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Variant found in a case with an alternate molecular basis for disease.
Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
Not Applicable
Comments:
Variant found in a case with an alternate molecular basis for disease.
CCDS VCEP notes for BP5: An individual could be a carrier of a pathogenic variant in GATM and have another disorder
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BP6 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
Reputable source recently reports variant as benign, but the evidence is not available to the laboratory to perform an independent evaluation.
Not Applicable
This criterion is not for use as recommended by the ClinGen Sequence Variant Interpretation VCEP Review Committee.
PubMed : 29543229
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BP7 | ||||
Original ACMG Summary
A synonymous variant for which splicing prediction algorithms predict no impact to the splice consensus sequence nor the creation of a new splice site AND the nucleotide is not highly conserved.
Stand Alone
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Supporting
A synonymous (silent) variant for which splicing prediction algorithms predict no impact to the splice consensus sequence nor the creation of a new splice site AND the nucleotide is not highly conserved.
Modification Type:
None
Not Applicable
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