Emerging Clinical Technologies Flashcards
Level of intervention and treatment
- mutant gene- modify somatic genotype: transplantation, gene therapy
- Mutant mRNA- RNAi
- Mutant protein- protein replacement, enhancement of residual function
- Metabolic or biochemical dysfunction- disease specific compensation
- clinical phenotype- medical or surgical intervention
- the family- genetic counseling, carrier screening, prenatal testing
Counseling
- prenatal/carrier testing
- provide information
- planning and education
- provides opportunity for patients to obtain data about potential genetic disorders or carrier status and to discuss their concerns with someone who understands genetic principles
Medical or Surgical intervention
- Drug therapy: usually treats the symptoms
- Surgery: transplantation (heart, liver, etc); Repair (cleft lip/palate, aorta, bone fusion)
Treatment of Metabolic Disorders- dietary modification
-Dietary modification/restriction: amino acid catabolic pathway disorders (PKU), life long, can be difficult for patient and family
Treatment of Metabolic Disorders- Replacement
- add back something that is missing
- BH4 hyperphenylalanemia
Treatment of Metabolic Disorders- diversion
- use other pathways to avoid accumulation of a metabolite
- redirect to breakdown substances to harmless compounds
- example: defect in the urea pathway where the block prevents degradation of NH3 to urea which can be eliminated from the body
- NH3 will accumulate which can be toxic
- diet is partial solution but does not solve the entire problem
- it was found that administering sodium benzoate will push the excess ammonia to combine with glycine, and this is converted to hippurate which can be excreted in the urine
Treatment of Metabolic Disorders- Inhibition/Depletion
- Inhibition: modifying the rate of synthesis by using a drug or other agent that slows or blocks a critical step in the pathway
- Depletion: Removal of a substance that is in excess, hereditary hemochromatosis- accumulation of iron be controlled by regular phlebotomy
Treatment at the Protein Levels- Replacement Extracellular
- extracellular
- if a protein is absent- add it back
- Hemophilia A- factor VII
- alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency- treat with alpha 1 antitrypsin
-Problems: cost, availability, antibody production in patient (pigs, cows), contamination
Treatment at Protein Level- Replacement Intracellular
- must target a specific cell type
- Example: Gaucher disease: lysosomal storage disease, deficiency of glucocerebrosidase
- there is modification of the glucosidase by mannose 6-phosphate. This is picked up by the macrophages. The enzyme can then cross the lysosomal membrane to begin to digest the stored macromolecules
- response in patients has been positive, with overall improvement in function and phenotype
Treatment at Protein level- enhancing genetic expression
- enhancing genetic expression: use of one gene to compensate for the mutation in another
- Sickle cell anemia
- treatment with decitabine increases levels of y-globin in the blood (hypomethylates DNA by inhibiting methyltransferase)
- Hb F functions as a replacement oxygen carrier and inhibits polymerization of deoxyhemoglobin S
Transplantation- Bone Marrow for Hematologic disorders
- hematologic disorders
- remove the disease clone and replace it with unaffected cells
- collect bone marrow stem cells from the patient (autologous) or from a matched donor (allogenic)
- transplanted cells with re-establish in the new host, and hopefully cure the disease
- possibility that not all of the disease related cells will be removed, and they could re-establish the disease
Transplantation of Bone Marrow for Lysosomal storage diseases
- bone marrow is about 10% of the body’s cell mass, and extracellular transfer from the normal marrow may stimulate function in other cells
- acts as a source of mononuclear phagocytes
- can reduce the size of various internal organs
- if done within the first 2 years of life, will limit the negative neurological impact of the disease
Stem Cells
- self renewing, undifferentiated cells
- can proliferate and produce a wide variety of different types of differentiated cells
- Embryonic stem cells (ESC)-which are pluripotent and capable of differentiating into any cell type in the body
- Somatic stem cells (SSC) which are self renewing but can only differentiate into the cell types present in the tissue of origin- for example hematopoetic stem cells can differentiate into lymphocytes, neutrophils, basophils, red blood cells but could not generate skin or nerve cells
Embryonic Stem Cells
- Potential therapy for : Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease
- Potential source of cells for: tissue grafting, organ transplants
- attract option because they provide the possibility of creating multiple types of cells from a single source
- furthermore, they offer the possibility of generating normal cells from tissues that may not be normally accessible- such as brain cells
Downside of Embryonic Stem Cells
- what about the source of cells?
- should embryos be used in this way?
- do the potential benefits outweigh other considerations?
- will the embryos be destroyed during the harvesting process?
- if ESC are an important commodity, will this become a commercial endeavor?