The Spectra of Disease-Causing Mutations in the Ferroportin 1 (SLC40A1) Encoding Gene and Related Iron Overload Phenotypes (Hemochromatosis Type 4 and Ferroportin Disease)

Abstract

SLC40A1 is the sole iron export protein reported in mammals and is a key player in both cellular and systemic iron homeostasis. This unique iron exporter, which belongs to the major facilitator superfamily, is predominantly regulated by the hyposideremic hormone hepcidin. SLC40A1 dysfunction causes ferroportin disease, and autosomal dominant iron overload disorder characterized by cellular iron retention, principally in reticuloendothelial cells, correlating with high serum ferritin and low to normal transferrin saturation. Resistant to hepcidin, SLC40A1 mutations are rather associated with elevated plasma iron and parenchymal iron deposition, a condition that resembles HFE-related hemochromatosis and is associated with more clinical complications. With very few exceptions, only missense variations are reported at the SLC40A1 locus; this situation increasingly limits the establishment of pathogenicity. In this mutation update, we provide a comprehensive review of all the pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants, variants of unknown significance, and benign or likely benign SLC40A1 variants. The classification is essentially determined using functional, structural, segregation, and recurrence data. We furnish new information on genotype-phenotype correlations for loss-of-function, gain-of-function, and other SLC40A1 variants, confirming the existence of wide clinical heterogeneity and the potential for misdiagnosis. All information is recorded in a locus-specific online database.