X-linked spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda misdiagnosed as growth hormone deficiency: identification of a novel intronic TRAPPC2 variant by whole-genome sequencing

X-linked spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda (SEDT) is a rare skeletal dysplasia caused by pathogenic variants in TRAPPC2 and typically presents in late childhood or adolescence with short-trunk disproportion and vertebral dysplasia.

We describe a family series centered on an adolescent male initially diagnosed with GHD due to reduced height velocity and subnormal GH stimulation results, who received recombinant human GH (rhGH) therapy for three years with negligible improvement.

During puberty, he developed progressive short-trunk disproportion and characteristic radiographic features, including platyspondyly and posterior hump-shaped vertebral endplates, suggestive of SEDT. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was nondiagnostic, whereas whole-genome sequencing (WGS) identified a novel intronic TRAPPC2 variant, c.239-20_239-12delinsAATGAA, initially classified as a variant of uncertain significance (VUS). Segregation analysis across the family enabled reclassification of the variant to likely pathogenic, confirming X-linked SEDT. The proband’s younger brother exhibited earlier radiologic abnormalities and, notably, a favorable response to rhGH, whereas the younger sister—an asymptomatic heterozygous carrier—showed normal spinal morphology, consistent with expected female carrier phenotypes.

This family-based report underscores the generally limited therapeutic effect of rhGH in SEDT while highlighting potential interindividual variability, as evidenced by the younger male sibling’s response. It further emphasizes the diagnostic utility of WGS for detecting deep intronic variants missed by WES and the importance of segregation analysis in resolving VUS in rare skeletal dysplasias.