PYGM
protein-codingglycogen phosphorylase, muscle associated, the group of Glycogen phosphorylases
Gene summary
This gene encodes a muscle enzyme involved in glycogenolysis. Highly similar enzymes encoded by different genes are found in liver and brain. Mutations in this gene are associated with McArdle disease (myophosphorylase deficiency), a glycogen storage disease of muscle. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants.[provided by RefSeq, Sep 2009]
MANE transcript
Inheritance
ClinVar variants
Top phenotype
gnomAD constraint
Max pathogenic AF
Genomic locus
External References & Databases
Transcript & Mutation Effects
hg38 • Region Span ~13.6 kbGenCC Phenotypes & Disease Associations
Curated gene-disease validity assertions and inheritance patterns
Inheritance Pattern: AD
Disease ID:MONDO:0009293
Submitter: Ambry Genetics
Inheritance Pattern: AR
Disease ID:MONDO:0009293
Submitter: ClinGen
The PYGM gene, gene encodes the muscle isoform of the enzyme glycogen phosphorylase involved in glycogenolysis, which catalyses the breakdown of glycogen into glucose-1-phosphate, to be utilized within the muscle cell (PMID:17915571). Decreased or completely absent activity of muscle glycogen phosphorylase has been observed with mutations in the PYGM gene and result in McArdle disease or Glycogen Storage Disease Type V (GSD-V; MIM # 232600). (PMID:12031624,18667317). Clinical features of GSD- V include exercise intolerance with fatigue, cramps, myalgia, ‘second-wind’ phenomenon (characterized by the ability to resume exercise with less difficulty, following a short period of rest at the first appearance of fatigue), moderate to high levels of serum creatine kinase (CK) at rest, and episodic myoglobinuria (PMID:18667317, 34373715). GSD -V is inherited in an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern and seen to exhibit genetic heterogeneity. The mode of inheritance of McArdle disease is autosomal-recessive. Summary of case- based evidence: The first variants in the PYGM gene were identified in 1993 with few such as, nonsense mutation in the first exon (R50X) which is the most frequent mutation in Caucasians (PMID:8316268, 11809171). Thirteen unique variants, including missense, splice site, deletions, frameshift mutations and insertion, have been documented in individuals, both families and unrelated individuals across 13 publications (PMIDs:18667317, 34373715, 11809171, 25873271, 12031624, 35022222, 15262743, 37701325, 25240406, 37760875, 31747538, 32075227) are included in this curation. Summary of Experimental evidence: Studies on knock-in (p.R50X/p.R50X) mouse disease model analysed for maximal endurance exercise capacity and the molecular consequences of an absence of enzyme, showed that the levels of this enzyme were also significantly lower in homozygous and heterozygous mutant mice compared to wild type in three types of muscles (slow-twitch: soleus, intermediate twitch: gastrocnemius and fast twitch: Extensor digitorum longus muscles). Similar results were found for PYGM transcript levels for both the genotype and muscle effect (PMID: 25873271). Further, study on gene knockdown resulted in a reduced enzyme levels in zebrafish morphants, with features such as altered muscle structural changes and accumulation of glycogen granules in the subsarcolemmal region mimicking the symptoms of GSD-V in humans (PMID: 31747538). Further, human iPSC-based skeletal muscle model derived from a McArdle patient and a healthy control were both successfully differentiated into skeletal muscle cells. The created McArdle skeletal muscle model showed the absence of enzyme and the generated patient iPSC-based skeletal muscle model mimicked the main biochemical aspects of McArdle disease (PMID:37760875). A study on enzyme expression in white blood cells (WBCs), it was found that T lymphocytes expressed the enzyme in healthy donors, but expression was significantly lower in McArdle patients (p<0.001). PYGM mRNA levels were also lower in white blood cells from McArdle patients (PMID:25240406). The activity of enzyme in muscle homogenate of McArdle patients was extremely reduced. Also, histochemical staining of enzyme in tested biopsies showed no or minimal enzyme activity in comparison to healthy controls along with marked sub-sarcolemmal glycogen deposition in Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining (PMID:32075227). Finally, a study on effects of fatiguing activity on glycogen and glycogen phosphorylase associated with sarcoplasmic reticulum demonstrated that glycogen and glycogen phosphorylase enzyme associated with skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum are reduced after fatiguing activity. (PMID:1156145). In summary, PYGM is definitively associated with autosomal recessive Glycogen Storage Disease type V and the same has been demonstrated in both the cases diagnosed and experimental studies. This classification was approved by the ClinGen General Inborn Errors of Metabolism GCEP on the meeting date [February 28, 2025] (SOP Version 10).
Inheritance Pattern: AR
Disease ID:MONDO:0009293
Submitter: Genomics England PanelApp
Inheritance Pattern: AR
Disease ID:MONDO:0009293
Submitter: Labcorp Genetics (formerly Invitae)
Inheritance Pattern: AR
Disease ID:MONDO:0009293
Submitter: Orphanet
Inheritance Pattern: AD
Disease ID:MONDO:0002412
Submitter: PanelApp Australia
Inheritance Pattern: AR
Disease ID:MONDO:0009293
Submitter: Natera
Inheritance Pattern: AR
Disease ID:MONDO:0009293
Submitter: PanelApp Australia
Clinical Genomic Database (CGD)
Manifestation: Biochemical; Musculoskeletal; Renal
Intervention: Biochemical; Musculoskeletal; Pharmacogenomic; Renal
Rationale: Avoidance of excessive exercise may be beneficial to avoid rhabdomyolysis and potential renal failure; Sucrose ingestion may be beneficial (eg, prior to exercise); Certain precautions should be taken with general anesthesia
ClinVar Associated Diseases & Phenotypes
Reported disease conditions connected to PYGM variants in ClinVar
ClinVar Variants & Pathogenicity by Type
Statistics based on transcript NM_005609.4. 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.
| Effect | PathogenicP | Likely pathogenicLP | VUS | Likely benignLB | BenignB | Sum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| synonymous | 1 | 1 | 17 | 416 | 4 | 439 |
| missense | 8 | 69 | 439 | 15 | 5 | 536 |
| nonsense | 31 | 25 | 1 | 57 | ||
| start loss | 2 | 5 | 7 | |||
| frameshift | 126 | 65 | 1 | 192 | ||
| splice donor/acceptor (+/-2bp) | 7 | 60 | 1 | 68 | ||
| Total | 175 | 225 | 458 | 432 | 9 | 1299 |
Highest pathogenic variant AF is 0.0028372484
Transcript Catalog
Annotated transcript isoforms across RefSeq and Ensembl databases
| Transcript ID | Source | Protein ID | Coding Exons | MANE Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RefSeq | NP_005600.1 | 20 | MANE Select | |
| Ensembl | ENSP00000164139.3 | 20 | MANE Select | |
| RefSeq | NP_001158188.1 | 18 | Standard | |
| Ensembl | ENSP00000366650.3 | 18 | Standard |
Gene Ontology (GO) Annotations & Pathways
Biological processes, molecular functions, cellular components and pathways
Pathways ConsensusPathDB
- Insulin resistance - Homo sapiens (human)
- Starch and sucrose metabolism - Homo sapiens (human)
- Glucagon signaling pathway - Homo sapiens (human)
- Necroptosis - Homo sapiens (human)
- Insulin signaling pathway - Homo sapiens (human)
Biological Process
- glycogen metabolic process
- glycogen catabolic process
Molecular Function
- nucleotide binding
- protein binding
- glycogen phosphorylase activity
- pyridoxal phosphate binding
- linear malto-oligosaccharide phosphorylase activity
Cellular Component
- cytoplasm
- cytosol
- extracellular exosome
gnomAD Constraint
Source:
- Gene type
- protein_coding
- Transcript type
- protein_coding
- Transcript
- ENST00000164139
- Coding exons
- 20
- Length
- 13909
- Individuals with no LoFs
- 125257
- Homozygous LoFs
- 0
- Heterozygous LoFs
- 491
- Defined
- 125748
- p
- 0.00195
| Z-Score | Observed | Expected | Observed/Expected | Mutation Rate | Total Possible | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missense | 0.0469 | 519 | 522 | 0.994 | 0.0000387 | 5528 |
| Missense (PolyPhen) | 247 | 256.2 | 0.96409 | 2696 | ||
| Synonymous | -0.518 | 221 | 211 | 1.05 | 0.0000154 | 1637 |
| Loss of Function | 2.22 | 27 | 42.6 | 0.634 | 0.00000238 | 479 |
Population LoF Frequency
| Population | CAF | p-value | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| African | 0.0013 | 0.0012 | notable |
| Latino/Admixed American | 0.0021 | 0.0021 | notable |
| Ashkenazi Jewish | 0.00020 | 0.00020 | rare |
| East Asian | 0.00054 | 0.00054 | rare |
| Finnish | 0.00083 | 0.00083 | rare |
| European (Non-Finnish) | 0.0029 | 0.0029 | notable |
| South Asian | 0.00072 | 0.00072 | rare |
| Other | 0.0026 | 0.0026 | notable |
dbNSFP Gene Annotations
Source:
- Function
- FUNCTION: Phosphorylase is an important allosteric enzyme in carbohydrate metabolism. Enzymes from different sources differ in their regulatory mechanisms and in their natural substrates. However, all known phosphorylases share catalytic and structural properties.;
- Disease
- DISEASE: Glycogen storage disease 5 (GSD5) [MIM:232600]: A metabolic disorder resulting in myopathy characterized by exercise intolerance, cramps, muscle weakness and recurrent myoglobinuria. {ECO:0000269|PubMed:10382911, ECO:0000269|PubMed:10382912, ECO:0000269|PubMed:10417800, ECO:0000269|PubMed:10590419, ECO:0000269|PubMed:10681080, ECO:0000269|PubMed:10714589, ECO:0000269|PubMed:10899452, ECO:0000269|PubMed:11706962, ECO:0000269|PubMed:12031624, ECO:0000269|PubMed:7603523, ECO:0000269|PubMed:8316268, ECO:0000269|PubMed:8535454, ECO:0000269|PubMed:9506549}. Note=The disease is caused by mutations affecting the gene represented in this entry.;
Recessive Scores
- pRec
- 0.128
Intolerance Scores
- LoFtool
- 0.0422
- RVIS EVS
- -0.19
- RVIS percentile EVS
- 39.31
Essentials
- Essential (CRISPR)
- N
- Essential (CRISPR2)
- N
- Essential (gene trap)
- N
- Indispensability pred.
- E
- Indispensability score
- 0.994
Gene Damage Prediction
| All | Recessive | Dominant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mendelian | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Primary Immunodeficiency | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Cancer | Medium | Medium | Medium |