Exam 2 Flashcards
Clinical manifestations of Mitochondrial Disease
- Stroke
- Basal ganglia lesions
- Encephalopathy - hepatopathy
- Epilepsy
- Cognitive decline
- Ataxia
- Ocular signs (ptosis, optic nerve atrophy, retinopathy)
- Sensorineural hearing loss
Genetic of mitochondrial disease
37 genes encode 13 proteins and 24 RNAS
More than 200 nDNA-encoded mito genes - encode over 1500 proteins
Circular mitome
100 known mito disease genes
Defects affect the ETC (electron transport chain/respiratory chain)
mtDNA syndromes
MELAS - Mitochondrial encephalopathy with lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes
MERRF - Myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fibers
NARP - neuropathy, ataxia, retinitis pigmentosa
MILS - maternally inherited Leighs syndrome
LHON - Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy
KSS/Pearson - sideroblastic anemia, pancreatitis (caused by mtDNA deletions)
Heteroplasmy
Percentage of affected mitochondria determines severity of phenotype
High percentage - more severe phenotype
Low percentage - may not exhibit any phenotype
ex. T8993G mutation-carrying individuals appear normal from 0-60% affected DNA, have retinitis pigmentosa from 60-75%, have NARP from 75-90%, and have Leighs syndrome if 90% or more of the mitochondria is affected
Fission and Fusion (mitochondria dynamics)
Mitochondria replicate by fission, require fusion to operate
Several genes regulate this and gene defects lead to mitochondrial disease
- OPA1 - AD Optic Atrophy
- MFN2 - AD axonal variant Charcot-Marie-Tooth
- KIF5A - AD HSP
Coenzyme Q10 Deficiency
6 Major clinical phenotypes
- Encephalomyopathic form with seizuers and ataxia
- Multisystem infantile form with encephalopathy, cardiomyopathy, and renal failure
- Predominantly cerebellar form with ataxia and cerebellar atrophy
- Leigh syndrome with growth retardation
- Isolated myopathy
- Steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome
May respond dramatically to Coenzyme Q10 treatment
mtDNA depletion syndrome symptoms
- Lactic acidosis in neonatal/childhood period
- Failure to thrive
- Hyoptonia
- Muscle weakness in childhood and adulthood
- Ataxia in adulthood
- Polyneuropathy in adulthood
- Liver impairment in childhood
- Epilepsy
- Migrane-like headaches in juvenile period
- Developmental delay/cognitive impairment
- Psychiatric symptoms in teens and adulthood
- GI symptoms in adulthood
Defects of intergenomic communication
Mitochondrial neuro gastrointestinal encephalomyopathy
- pstosis and opthalmoplegia
- GI dysmotility
- cachexia
- peripheral neuropathy
- leukoencephalopathy
Mitochondrial Disease Therapeutics
- Therapy based on specific pathway of respiratory chain affected
- Three parent children - Mitochondrial genome transfer to avoid mitochondrial diseases
- Gene therapy to reduce mutant mtDNA
Ammonia excretion - non-hepatic tissues
- Glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamine synthetase remove 2 ammonia molecules from tissues to rid them of nitrogen waste
- Glutamine deposits ammonia in kidney for excretion
Urea excretion - hepatic tissues
Requires water
Nitrogen waste ends up in urea
Goes into urea cycle
Amino acids derived either from breakdown of protein in tissues or from what is synthesized in those tissues
Hyperammonemias
Acquired - liver disease leads to portal systemic shunting
Inherited - Urea cycle enzyme defects of CPS1 (carbonyl phosphate synthetase 1) or ornithine transcarbamylase lead to severe hypoammonemia
Metabolic functions of the liver
- Production and storage of glycogen
- Catabolism of glycogen to glucose
- Conversion of excess glucose to fat
- Transport of lipids/glucose to other tissues
- Conversion of ammonia to urea
Deammination as a source of ammonia production
Removal of an amino group from amino acids results in the production of an ammonia molecule
Non-IEM causes of Hyperammonemias
- Drug-related (valproate)
- Acute liver failure
- Reye syndrome
- Massive tissue necrosis
- Chronic UTIs with urine retention
- Overgrowth of bowel flora
- Portocaval shunts
- Transient hyperammonemia in newborns
Urea cycle functions
- Prevents the accumulation of toxic nitrogenous compounds by removing nitrogen through urea
- Contains several biochemical reactions for the de novo synthesis of arginine
Urea Cycle Disorders
- Carbamyl phosphate synthetase deficiency
- Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (most common)
- Argininosuccinic acid synthetase deficiency
- Argininosuccinic acid lyase deficiency
- Arginase deficiency (lease common)
Characterized by hyperammonemia, encephalopathy (due to accumulation of glutamine in the astrocyte), respiratory alkalosis
N-Acetylglutamate Synthase deficiency (NAGS)
- Autosomal recessive
- Lethargy, persistent vomiting, poor feeding, hyperventilation, enlarged liver, seizures
- Total deficiency - symptoms appear immediately following birth
- Partial deficiency - may occur later in life following a stressful event such as infection
- Low cirtulline levels, normal orotic acid levels
Carbamyl phosphate synthetase deficiency (CPS)
- Autosomal recessive
- Lethargy, coma, seizures, vomiting, poor feeding, hyperventilation, heptaomegaly
- Total deficiency - symptoms appear immediately following birth
- Partial deficiency - symptoms appear in childhood
- Low citrulline levels, normal orotic acid levels
Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency
- X-linked
- Most common
- Lethargy, coma, seizures, vomiting, poor feeding, hyperventilation, hepatomegaly
- Hemizygote males - onset immediately after birth
- Hemizygote females - 10% are symptomatic
- Low citrulline levels, high orotic acid levels
Argininosuccinic acid synthetase deficiency (ASS)
- Autosomal recessive
- Lethargy, coma, seizures, vomiting, hyperventilation, poor feeding, hepatomegaly
- Total deficiency - symptoms appear immediately following birth
- Partial deficiency - symptoms appear in childhood
- High citrulline levels, high orotic acid levels
Argininiosuccinic acid lyase deficiency (ASL)
- Autosomal recessive
- Lethargy, coma, seizures, vomiting, hyperventilation, poor feeding, hepatomegaly
- Total deficiency - symptoms appear immediately following birth
- Partial deficiency - symptoms appear in childhood
- High citrulline levels, high orotic acid levels
Arginase Deficiency (ARG)
- Autosomal recessive
- Delayed development, protein intolerance, spasticity, seizures, irritability, vomiting, poor appetite
- Slower onset, often present with symptoms of muscle weakness, hyperammonemia is rare
- High citrulline levels, high orotic acid levels
Treatment of Urea Cycle Defects
- Goal is to maintain plasma glutamine levels at or near normal (Glutamine represents a storage form of nitrogen that can buffer ammonium)
- Measure of plasma glutamine levels may be single best guide to therapy (levels can predict hyperammonemia)
- Restricted intake of dietary protein
- Activation of other waste nitrogen pathways - CPS, OT, ASS - sodium phenylbutyrate activates phenylacetylglutamine - new vehicle for removal of waste nitrogen
- Arginine supplementation in ASS and ASL
- Ammonul medication
- Liver transplant in severe phenotypes
Functions of the lymphatic system
- Anatomic organization
- Fluid homeostasis
- Local tissue inflammation and edema
- Infection management
- Cancer
- Nutrition
- Organ rejection
Lymphatic development
- Embryonic veins express high levels of VEGFR-3 while a subpopulation of endothelial cells in large central veins express LYVE-1
- SOX-18 transcription factor is induced in LYVE-1 positive cells
- VEGFR-3 is downregulated in veins but remains high in lymphatic endothelial cell (LEC) precursors
- LEC precursors express neutrophilin-2 which makes them more responsive to VEGF-C, required to form lymph sacs
- LECs express proteins that lead to platelet aggregation to prevent lymphatico-venous connections
- LECs differentiate into lymphatic capillaries and vessels
Clinical manifestations of lymphedema
- Abnormal accumulation of fluid (possibly lymph) in the interstitial spaces (often extremities)
- Abnormality in the structure or function of the lymph system
- Swollen extremities
- Phenotype is imprecise and penetrance is incomplete
Primary Lymphedema (PL)
- AD w/ reduced penetrance (80%)
- Disabling and disfiguring swelling of the limbs
- Variable expression
- Variable age of onset
- Genetic heterogeneity
- VEGFR-3 and SOX-18 mutations
VEGFR-3
Expressed in vascular endothelium - lymphatic precursor cell line
- prominent at lymphatic points of origin
- VEGFR3 KO mice showed enlarged pericardial lymphocytes, enlarged paws
- Causes is PL
Lymphedema-Distichiasis
- AD
- Lymphedema, predominantly of lower limbs
- onset around puberty
- Distichiasis (double row of eyelashes)
- Varicose veins
- Cleft lip/palate (4%)
- Congenital heart defect (7%)
- FOXC2 mutations
Hypotrichosis-Lymphedema-Telangiectasia
- SOX18 mutations
- AR or AD
Galctosemias
- GALK - Galactokinase deficiency
- GALT - Galactose uridyl transferase deficiency
- GALE - Uridine diphosphotase deficiency
Fructose diseases
- Fructokinase deficiency
- Hereditary fructose intolerance
- Fructose 1,6-bisphosphotase deficiency
Glutamate-Glutamine conversion as ammonia buffer
- Glutamine is a storage form of nitrogen that can provide a short-term buffering of ammonia
- Gluatamate dehydrogenase and gluatmine synthase remove two ammonia molecules from tissues to remove excess nitrogen waste
Population-Specific Galactosemia Mutations
S135L - GALT gene mutations - common in African Americans
Q188R - GALT gene mutations - most common mutation in Caucasians
N314D - Duarte allele
Clinical Manifestations of GALK
- High galactose, low galactitol, low Gal1P
- Cataracts only