<i>MAFA</i> missense mutation causes familial insulinomatosis and diabetes mellitus

Abstract

The β-cell-enriched MAFA transcription factor plays a central role in regulating glucose-stimulated insulin secretion while also demonstrating oncogenic transformation potential in vitro. No disease-causing <i>MAFA</i> variants have been previously described. We investigated a large pedigree with autosomal dominant inheritance of diabetes mellitus or insulinomatosis, an adult-onset condition of recurrent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia caused by multiple insulin-secreting neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas. Using exome sequencing, we identified a missense <i>MAFA</i> mutation (p.Ser64Phe, c.191C>T) segregating with both phenotypes of insulinomatosis and diabetes. This mutation was also found in a second unrelated family with the same clinical phenotype, while no germline or somatic <i>MAFA</i> mutations were identified in nine patients with sporadic insulinomatosis. In the two families, insulinomatosis presented more frequently in females (eight females/two males) and diabetes more often in males (12 males/four females). Four patients from the index family, including two homozygotes, had a history of congenital cataract and/or glaucoma. The p.Ser64Phe mutation was found to impair phosphorylation within the transactivation domain of MAFA and profoundly increased MAFA protein stability under both high and low glucose concentrations in β-cell lines. In addition, the transactivation potential of p.Ser64Phe MAFA in β-cell lines was enhanced compared with wild-type MAFA. In summary, the p.Ser64Phe missense <i>MAFA</i> mutation leads to familial insulinomatosis or diabetes by impacting MAFA protein stability and transactivation ability. The human phenotypes associated with the p.Ser64Phe <i>MAFA</i> missense mutation reflect both the oncogenic capacity of MAFA and its key role in islet β-cell activity.