HomeAboutRankingsData Sources
© 2026 GeneE
🧬
GeneE
8 sources retrieved · Most recent: April 2026 · Index updated 15 days ago
ⓘGeneE is for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
NUDT18
nudix hydrolase 18
Chromosome 8 · 8p21.3
NCBI Gene: 79873Ensembl: ENSG00000275074.3HGNC: HGNC:26194UniProt: Q6ZVK8
16PubMed Papers
20Diseases
0Drugs
0Pathogenic Variants
DATA QUALITY
✓ Experimental GO Evidence✓ Swiss-Prot Reviewed
protein bindingisoprenoid diphosphate phosphatase activitydADP catabolic processdGDP catabolic processcutaneous melanomaneurodegenerative diseaseneoplasmbenign neoplasm of eye
✦AI Summary

NUDT18 (nudix hydrolase 18, also known as MTH3) is a metabolic enzyme with dual substrate specificity. Primarily, it hydrolyzes oxidized nucleoside diphosphates, particularly 8-oxo-dGDP and 8-oxo-GDP with high efficiency, converting them to monophosphates 1. This activity distinguishes NUDT18 from related enzymes MTH1 and MTH2, which preferentially cleave triphosphate forms 2. Recently, NUDT18 was identified as an efficient catalyst for isoprene pyrophosphate hydrolysis, with geranyl pyrophosphate as its best substrate (catalytic efficiency 2.1 × 10⁵ M⁻¹·s⁻¹), suggesting involvement in isoprenoid metabolism and protein isoprenylation regulation 3. NUDT18 also hydrolyzes triphosphate forms of antiviral nucleoside analogs, including remdesivir-TP, ribavirin-TP, and molnupiravir-TP, potentially limiting their therapeutic efficacy 4. Functionally, NUDT18 appears dispensable for oxidative stress resistance in cultured cells, unlike MTH1/MTH2; however, NUDT18 knockout cells show reduced proliferation, indicating roles beyond nucleotide sanitization 5. In disease context, NUDT18 expression is elevated in endometrial cancer relative to normal tissue, and notably, higher expression correlates with favorable prognosis and reduced tumor stage 6. Additionally, dysregulation of NUDT18 was identified in multiple sclerosis with sex-specific differences 7.

Sources cited
1
NUDT18 hydrolyzes 8-oxo-dGDP and 8-oxo-GDP efficiently, distinguishing it from MTH1 and MTH2 substrate specificities
PMID: 22556419
2
NUDT18 has far less activity than MTH1 against oxidized nucleotides and is not a biologically relevant 8-oxo-dGTPase
PMID: 26238318
3
NUDT18 efficiently catalyzes hydrolysis of isoprene pyrophosphates including geranyl diphosphate with high catalytic efficiency
PMID: 38944687
4
NUDT18 hydrolyzes active triphosphate metabolites of antivirals remdesivir, ribavirin, and molnupiravir, potentially limiting antiviral efficacy
PMID: 35732208
5
NUDT18 knockout cells show reduced growth rate, suggesting roles beyond oxidative stress resistance and nucleotide sanitization
PMID: 29482072
6
NUDT18 expression is elevated in endometrial cancer and higher expression correlates with longer overall survival and lower tumor stage
PMID: 40792130
7
NUDT18 was identified as sex-differentially dysregulated in multiple sclerosis brain tissue
PMID: 37023829
Disease Associationsⓘ20
cutaneous melanomaOpen Targets
0.20Weak
neurodegenerative diseaseOpen Targets
0.19Weak
neoplasmOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
benign neoplasm of eyeOpen Targets
0.05Suggestive
colorectal carcinomaOpen Targets
0.03Suggestive
connective tissue diseaseOpen Targets
0.02Suggestive
tooth diseaseOpen Targets
0.02Suggestive
triple-negative breast cancerOpen Targets
0.02Suggestive
breast adenocarcinomaOpen Targets
0.01Suggestive
endometrial cancerOpen Targets
0.01Suggestive
leukemiaOpen Targets
0.01Suggestive
breast cancerOpen Targets
0.01Suggestive
cancerOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
liver cancerOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
goutOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
myeloid sarcomaOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
colorectal cancerOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
adenocarcinomaOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
oral squamous cell carcinomaOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
urinary bladder cancerOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
Pathogenic Variants
No pathogenic variants reported on ClinVar for this gene.
View on ClinVar ↗
Related Genes
NUDT9Shared pathway100%NUDT1Protein interaction84%NUDT14Protein interaction80%NUDT17Protein interaction76%NUDT22Protein interaction73%NUDT12Protein interaction71%
Tissue Expression6 tissues
Lung
100%
Bone Marrow
74%
Liver
70%
Heart
70%
Brain
55%
Ovary
32%
Gene Interaction Network
Click a node to explore
NUDT18NUDT9NUDT1NUDT14NUDT17NUDT22NUDT12
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
Preparing viewer…
PDB4HVY · 1.46 Å · X-ray
View on RCSB ↗
Constraintⓘ
LOEUFⓘ
1.65LoF Tolerant
pLIⓘ
0.00Tolerant
Observed/Expected LoF1.19 [0.87–1.65]
RankingsWhere NUDT18 stands among ~20K protein-coding genes
  • #15,329of 20,598
    Most Researched16
  • #15,877of 17,882
    Most Constrained (LOEUF)1.65
Genes detectedNUDT18
Sources retrieved8 papers
Response time—
📄 Sources
8▼
1
Kinetic and structural characterization of NUDT15 and NUDT18 as catalysts of isoprene pyrophosphate hydrolysis.
PMID: 38944687
FEBS J · 2024
1.00
2
A deep transcriptome meta-analysis reveals sex differences in multiple sclerosis.
PMID: 37023829
Neurobiol Dis · 2023
0.88
3
Human MTH3 (NUDT18) protein hydrolyzes oxidized forms of guanosine and deoxyguanosine diphosphates: comparison with MTH1 and MTH2.
PMID: 22556419
J Biol Chem · 2012
0.75
4
Crystal structure, biochemical and cellular activities demonstrate separate functions of MTH1 and MTH2.
PMID: 26238318
Nat Commun · 2015
0.63
5
Nudix hydrolase 18 catalyzes the hydrolysis of active triphosphate metabolites of the antivirals remdesivir, ribavirin, and molnupiravir.
PMID: 35732208
J Biol Chem · 2022
0.50