MSTO1

protein-coding

misato mitochondrial distribution and morphology regulator 1

Gene summary

Involved in mitochondrion distribution; mitochondrion organization; and positive regulation of mitochondrial fusion. Located in mitochondrial outer membrane. Is active in cytosol. [provided by Alliance of Genome Resources, Jul 2025]

MANE transcript

NM_018116.4

Inheritance

AR, AD

ClinVar variants

P:28U:136B:56

Top phenotype

Myopathy, mitochondrial, and ataxia

gnomAD constraint

pLI —, LoF o/e 0.72

Max pathogenic AF

—

Genomic locus

chr1:155,563,235-155,614,951

External References & Databases

Transcript & Mutation Effects

hg38 • Region Span ~51.7 kb
Loading mutation effect viewer...

GenCC Phenotypes & Disease Associations

Curated gene-disease validity assertions and inheritance patterns

mitochondrial myopathy-cerebellar ataxia-pigmentary retinopathy syndromeMODERATE

Inheritance Pattern: AR

Disease ID:MONDO:0044714

Submitter: Ambry Genetics

mitochondrial myopathy-cerebellar ataxia-pigmentary retinopathy syndromeSTRONG

Inheritance Pattern: AR

Disease ID:MONDO:0044714

Submitter: PanelApp Australia

mitochondrial diseaseDEFINITIVE

Inheritance Pattern: AR

Disease ID:MONDO:0044970

Submitter: ClinGen

The relationship between *MSTO1* and primary mitochondrial disease was evaluated using the ClinGen Clinical Validity Framework as of May 18, 2023. *MSTO1* encodes Misato mitochondrial distribution and morphology regulator 1, an outer mitochondrial membrane protein that plays a role in mitochondrial fusion. The *MSTO1* gene was first reported in relation to autosomal recessive primary mitochondrial disease in 2017 (PMID: 28544275), in two infants with cerebellar atrophy, developmental delay, myopathy, and elevated serum creatine kinase (CK) levels. Subsequent publications have shown a highly consistent phenotype of infantile onset (<2 years) cerebellar atrophy, myopathy, mild serum CK elevations, developmental delays, and ataxia with or without retinitis pigmentosa. Notably, at the same time of the initial report, a case with proposed dominant inheritance was reported (PMID:2855494), however, since no subsequent dominant cases have been reported (and 22 autosomal recessive cases with a clear and consistent phenotype have been reported), this GCEP elected to curate this gene-disease relationship as an autosomal recessive condition. The possibility of different mechanisms of action leading to both dominant and recessive inheritance cannot be excluded, but additional cases are needed to support autosomal dominant inheritance of *MSTO1*-related disease. Furthermore, while various names have been given to the constellation of features seen in those with *MSTO1*-related disease, pathogenic variants in this gene cause a primary mitochondrial disease. Therefore, the *MSTO1* phenotype has been lumped into one disease entity according to the ClinGen Lumping and Splitting Framework. Evidence supporting this gene-disease relationship includes case-level data and experimental data. This curation included 13 unique variants (including one nonsense, one frameshift, two splicing, and nine missense variants) in eight probands (although more than 20 probands have been reported in the medical literature) across at least five publications from 2017-2021 (PMIDs: 28544275, 29339779, 30684668, 31463572, 33612823). Loss-of-function is implicated as a mechanism of disease. This gene-disease association is also supported by numerous Drosophila melanogaster models (PMIDs: 29255146, 9144213), functional alteration in non-patient cells showing mitochondrial fragmentation (PMID: 17349998), absence of wild type MSTO1 expression in affected patients but not controls (PMID: 31463572), and rescue of mitochondrial morphology and fusion deficits in patients’ cells transduced with wild type MSTO1 (PMID: 31463572). In summary, there is definitive evidence to support the relationship between *MSTO1* and primary mitochondrial disease. This has been repeatedly demonstrated and upheld over time, and no convincing evidence has emerged that contradicts this gene-disease relationship. This classification was approved by the NICHD/NINDS U24 ClinGen Mitochondrial Disease Gene Curation Expert Panel on on May 18, 2023.

mitochondrial myopathy-cerebellar ataxia-pigmentary retinopathy syndromeSTRONG

Inheritance Pattern: AR

Disease ID:MONDO:0044714

Submitter: Labcorp Genetics (formerly Invitae)

mitochondrial myopathy-cerebellar ataxia-pigmentary retinopathy syndromeDEFINITIVE

Inheritance Pattern: AR

Disease ID:MONDO:0044714

Submitter: Broad Center for Mendelian Genomics

mitochondrial myopathy-cerebellar ataxia-pigmentary retinopathy syndromeLIMITED

Inheritance Pattern: AD

Disease ID:MONDO:0044714

Submitter: PanelApp Australia

Clinical Genomic Database (CGD)

Myopathy, mitochondrial, and ataxiaAD/AR

Manifestation: Musculoskeletal; Neurologic; Ophthalmologic

Intervention: General

Rationale: Genetic knowledge may be beneficial related to issues such as selection of optimal supportive care, informed medical decision-making, prognostic considerations, and avoidance of unnecessary testing

Refs: 28544275; 28554942Source: CGD (NHGRI)

ClinVar Associated Diseases & Phenotypes

Reported disease conditions connected to MSTO1 variants in ClinVar

12 Conditions Cataloged
not providedTotal: 122
Inborn genetic diseasesTotal: 86
Mitochondrial myopathy-cerebellar ataxia-pigmentary retinopathy syndromeTotal: 47
not specifiedTotal: 33
MSTO1-related disorderTotal: 17
See casesTotal: 3
Isolated cerebellar hypoplasia/agenesisTotal: 2
Inborn mitochondrial myopathyTotal: 2

ClinVar Variants & Pathogenicity by Type

Statistics based on transcript NM_018116.4. Only rare variants are included.

We include only reliable ClinVar variants with their consequences to MANE Select, MANE Plus Clinical transcripts, or transcripts with TSL equal to 1. Click a count to filter the variants table below.

Slight differences between displayed counts and ClinVar may occur due to a different transcript/consequence chosen by our variant effect predictor, or because we classify Benign/Likely benign as Likely benign and Pathogenic/Likely pathogenic as Likely pathogenic.

EffectPLPVUSLBBSum
synonymous
1
clinvar
38
clinvar
1
clinvar
40
missense
2
clinvar
12
clinvar
131
clinvar
13
clinvar
4
clinvar
162
nonsense
2
clinvar
3
clinvar
1
clinvar
6
start loss
1
clinvar
1
frameshift
2
clinvar
2
clinvar
3
clinvar
7
splice donor/acceptor (+/-2bp)
1
clinvar
3
clinvar
4
Total721136515220

Highest pathogenic variant AF is 0.00018783048

Loading ClinVar variants...

Transcript Catalog

Annotated transcript isoforms across RefSeq and Ensembl databases

Showing 4 of 106 transcripts
Transcript IDSourceProtein IDCoding ExonsMANE Status
NM_018116.4RefSeqNP_060586.214MANE Select
ENST00000245564.8EnsemblENSP00000245564.314MANE Select
NM_001256532.1RefSeqNP_001243461.114Standard
NM_001256533.1RefSeqNP_001243462.114Standard

Gene Ontology (GO) Annotations & Pathways

Biological processes, molecular functions, cellular components and pathways

Biological Process

  • mitochondrial genome maintenance
  • mitotic sister chromatid segregation
  • mitochondrion organization
  • mitochondrion distribution
  • mitotic spindle assembly

Molecular Function

  • molecular_function

Cellular Component

  • cytoplasm
  • mitochondrial outer membrane

gnomAD Constraint

Source: gnomAD

Gene type
protein_coding
Transcript type
protein_coding
Transcript
ENST00000245564
Coding exons
14
Length
138175
Individuals with no LoFs
125727
Homozygous LoFs
0
Heterozygous LoFs
21
Defined
125748
p
0.0000835
Z-ScoreObservedExpectedObserved/ExpectedMutation RateTotal Possible
Missense-0.02112622611.000.00001343615
Missense (PolyPhen)6873.6190.923681106
Synonymous-0.4521161101.050.000005891197
Loss of Function1.271723.70.7170.00000109319

Population LoF Frequency

PopulationCAFp-valueStatus
African0.000130.00012rare
Latino/Admixed American0.0000290.000029rare
Ashkenazi Jewish0.0000990.000099rare
East Asian0.000110.00011rare
Finnish00.0absent
European (Non-Finnish)0.000110.00011rare
South Asian0.000110.000098rare
Other00.0absent

dbNSFP Gene Annotations

Source: dbNSFP

Function
FUNCTION: Involved in the regulation of mitochondrial distribution and morphology (PubMed:17349998, PubMed:28554942, PubMed:28544275). Required for mitochondrial fusion and mitochondrial network formation (PubMed:28554942, PubMed:28544275). {ECO:0000269|PubMed:17349998, ECO:0000269|PubMed:28544275, ECO:0000269|PubMed:28554942}.;

Essentials

Essential (CRISPR)
E
Essential (CRISPR2)
N
Essential (gene trap)
K
Indispensability pred.
N
Indispensability score
0.288

Gene Damage Prediction

AllRecessiveDominant
MendelianMediumMediumMedium
Primary ImmunodeficiencyMediumMediumMedium
CancerMediumMediumMedium
For research and educational, non-commercial use only. Not for clinical or diagnostic use. GeneBe does not provide medical advice. Data use for AI modeling is prohibited: if used, the cost is $0.001 per byte of downloaded uncompressed data.