Multiplexed assays of variant effect for clinical variant interpretation

Abstract

The rapid expansion of clinical genetic testing has markedly improved the detection of genetic variants. However, most variants lack the evidence needed to classify them as pathogenic or benign, resulting in the accumulation of variants of uncertain significance that cannot be used to diagnose or guide treatment of disease. Moreover, targeted therapy for cancer treatment increasingly depends on correctly identifying oncogenic driver mutations, but the oncogenicity of many variants identified in tumours remains unclear. To address these challenges, efforts to classify variants are increasingly using multiplexed assays of variant effect (MAVEs), which are massively scaled experiments that can generate functional data for thousands of variants simultaneously. The rise of MAVEs is accompanied by better guidance on the use of MAVE data for classifying germline variants to aid their clinical implementation. Here, we overview MAVE technologies from their inception to their increased use in the clinic, including their roles in uncovering mechanisms for variant pathogenicity and guiding targeted therapy and drug development.