Genetic Diseases Flashcards
What is a genome vs chromosome mutation? Can these be seen via karyotyping?
Genome mutation - loss or gain of whole chromosome (i.e. trisomy)
Chromosome mutation - structural changes in a single chromosome which can be seen (translocations / deletions)
Both types can be seen via karyotyping
Are autosomal dominant or autosomal recessive disorders more uniformly expressed and why?
Autosomal recessive since both gene products will be knocked out, destroying whatever enzymatic function was there
Autosomal dominant inheritances can have variable expression of the unaffected allele between cells or individuals -> reduced penetrance and variable expressivity
How are acid hydrolases made and transported?
Made in the endoplasmic reticulum, and post-translationally modified in the Golgi apparatus with a mannose-6-phosphate residue.
Attaches to mannose-6-phosphate receptor in the Golgi and leaves via the Trans-Golgi network.
This vesicle of inactive acid hydrolases will fuse with acidic late endosomes to form lysosomes.
What are the only two lysosomal storage disease which are X-linked rather than autosomal recessive?
Fabry disease - for some reason you just remember this
Hunter syndrome - men are hunters, will affect men more
What are the four types of glycosphingolipids? Give the base, one sugar, with sulfates added, and with sialic acid added? Begin by saying what the backbone / functional groups are.
Backbone = sphingosine
C-C-N of serine, C2 will hold all the sugars.
Ceramide: C1 has palmitate, N has N-acetylated fatty acid
Cerebrosides: One sugar at C2, either glucose or galactose (i.e. glucocerebroside)
Sulfatides: Sulfate group attached to galactocerebroside
Globoside: Neutral, with extra sugars added to C2
Ganglioside: Includes sialic acid residues, which are charged (O or N-acetylneuraminic acid)
What is sphingomyelin? What is it similar to?
Ceramide + C2 = phosphocholine
It is a phosphosphingolipid, very similar to phosphatidylcholine which is the same but with glycerol backbone.
What are mucopolysaccharides primarily involved in and what happens when there is a lysosomal hydrolase deficiency in breaking them down?
Primarily involved in the extracellular matrix of different tissues
- > made of sugars including dermatan sulfate, heparan sulfate, keratan sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, and hyaluronic acid
- > will accumulate in lysosomes and cause mucopolysaccharidoses
What are the clinical features shared by mucopolysaccharidoses?
- Organomegaly
- Abnormal facies
- Joint stiffness and deformity
- Cognitive impairment
When glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) (same as MPS) build up in the body, what two fluids do they tend to build up in so they are clinically detectable? What GAG is normal in urine?
- Urine (can be used for screening test as well as quantitative analysis up to 1 year) - some chondroitin sulfate is normal
- Amniotic fluid
What enzyme assays can test for MPS?
- Prenatal - culture cells from amniotic fluid (not CVS)
2. Postnatal - enzyme activity from skin fibroblasts, or leukocytes
What enzyme is deficient in Hurler syndrome and what accumulates in the urine?
alpha-iduronidase
(breaks one of the sugars in the dimers which form GAGs)
-> accumulation of dermatan and heparan sulfate
What are the common features of Hurler syndrome?
Airway destruction, dwarfing, coarse facial features, buildup of GAGs in heart, hepatosplenomegaly
- *corneal clouding**
- *Alder-Reilly anomaly**
What is the Alder-Reilly anomaly?
Accumulation of azurophilic granules in the cytoplasm of neutrophils and monocytes, seen in Hurler syndrome
What enzyme is deficient in Hunter syndrome and what accumulates in urine?
Iduronate sulfatase -> need to take sulfate groups off uronic acid sugars before they can be cleaved by alpha-iduronidase
Same accumulation as Hurler: heparan and dermatan sulfate
What are the clinical features of Hunter syndrome which distinguish it from Hurler?
Hunter has no corneal clouding
- > onset generally slightly later and milder as well, with aggressive behavior
- > both still have deafness, stiff joints, coarse facial features, etc
What is the general function of sphingomyelin?
Distributed throughout the body as a structural component of cell membranes
What are the two broad Types of Niemann-Pick disease and what causes it? Which group is overall most common?
Type I - Deficiency in spingomyelinase -> accumulation of sphingomyelin in reticuloendothelial system, among others
Type II - Defect in cholesterol esterification (NPC1 / NPC2), leading to lysosomal accumulation of unesterified cholesterol.
-> more common overall
What are the two subtypes of Type I Niemann-Pick (sphingomyelinase deficiency)? Give the clinical features overall, and the one thing that really distinguished type A from Type B.
- Type A - “severe infantile”, more common.
- > neurodegeneration (vacuolization / ballooning of neurons), hepatosplenomegaly, lipid-laden macrophages, “cherry-red” spot on macula like Tay-Sachs. - Type B - “chronic visceral”
- > organomegaly but NO CNS INVOLVEMENT
How will macrophages appear by LM and EM in both forms of Type I Niemann-Pick?
LM - foamy macrophages with “soap bubble” appearance
EM - Lamellated and whorled figures
What are the defining clinical characteristics of Type II Niemann-Pick and its two subtypes?
Type C: Presents in early childhood
Affects viscera (i.e. spleen, liver, bone marrow) and CNS
- > Neurovisceral presentation
- > Supranuclear palsy and mental deterioration is diagnostic
Type D: Less severe variant prominent in Nova Scotia
What is the primary function of gangliosides?
Normal component of cell membranes, especially neurons
What are the GM2 gangliosidoses? Why are the clinically similar? What enzymes are messed up?
Tay-Sachs disease - alpha-subunit of hexaminidase A
Sandhoff disease - beta-subunit of hexaminidase A
Activator deficiency - GM2 activator
All lead to accumulation of GM2
How do the subunits of these GM2 cleavage enzymes work?
Alpha-beta subunits meet and cleave GM2 with the help of activator for hexaminidase A
-> hexaminidase B is also deficient in Sandhoff because it is made from two beta-subunits.
Why is there a cherry-red spot in GM2 gangliosidoses, and what is the prognosis for these patients?
Because the macula is the lowest concentration of neurons -> has the lowest amount of glycosphingolipids accumulating as a result of enzyme deficiencies
Prognosis -> neurogenerative disease, blindness, and death by 2-3 years.
What will be seen on EM of the neurons and retina in Tay-Sachs / other GM2 gangliosidoses? What ethnic group is most effected?
Whorled material, very similar to Niemann-Pick.
Ashkenazi Jews are most affected
What enzyme is deficient in Metachromatic leukodystrophy and what will accumulate?
Arylsulfatase A - galactocerebroside sulfate will accumulate in Schwann cells / oligodendrocytes (a major component of myelin membranes)
What deficiency is phenotypically similar to metachromatic leukodystrophy?
Saposin B (SAP) which is an enzyme required for activity of arylsulfatase A, which solubilizes the hydrophobic lipid, making it accessible
When does metachromatic leukodystrophy most commonly begin and what are its major symptoms?
~2 years (late infancy)
- > Hypotonia, muscle weakness, and ataxia due to central and peripheral demyelination
- > Loss of white matter
- be aware that there are later forms (juvenile, adult)
How will the adult form of metachromatic leukodystrophy first present?
Likely as psychiatric symptoms first, then neurological symptoms (loss of white matter in brain)
How is metachromatic leukodystophy diagnosed / was classically diagnosed?
“metachromasia” in urine spot test due to presence of sulfatides in urine
Also from imaging scans showing demyelination.
Also, biopsy of sural nerve showing metachromatic granules
Where does material accumulate in metachromatic leukodystrophy and how does this appear when stained? EM?
Appears as metachromatic granules. On EM, has a herringbone pattern with pleomorphic / parallel lipid profiles.
-> mostly accumulates in oligodendrocytes / astrocytes / schwann, causing gliosis in brain. Some accumulation in gall bladder / kidney areas
What is multiple sulfatase deficiency? What disorders will it combine?
Deficiency in arylsulfatase A, B, and C, leading to accumulation of sulfatides (i.e. galactocerebroside sulfate), sulfated GAGs, and steroid sulfates
-> combines metachromatic leukodystrophy and mucopolysaccharidoses
What is the most common lysosomal storage disease and what is defective?
Gaucher disease - defect in glucocerebrosidase, with different abnormal alleles for the enzyme giving rise to three clinical subtypes
What type of cell is present histologically in Gaucher’s disease and why does it exist?
Gaucher cell - lipid-laden macrophages which appear like “crumpled tissue paper”
-> exist because glucocerebrosides from senescent WBCs/RBCs are not broken down, and eaten by monocytes / macrophages
What are the features of the most common type of Gaucher disease, and how is it distinguished from the other two types? Who is it common in?
Type 1 -> most common in Ashkenazi Jews
Hepatosplenomegaly
Pancytopenia
Bone disease - avascular necrosis, osteoporosis, bone crises
NO primary neurological disease versus the two other types (no Gaucher cells in brain)
What bone finding is common in Type 1 gaucher disease?
“Erlenmeyer flash deformity” -> flattened ends of femurs
What are the findings in Type 2 gaucher disease and what is special about the amount of glucocerebrosidase?
Type 2 - primary CNS involvement, hepatosplenomegaly and cytopenias, but NO BONE INVOLVEMENT
-> glucocerebrosidase is completely ABSENT
What is Type 3 Gaucher disease?
Juvenile form,
involves hepatosplenomegaly, cytopenias, as well as CNS AND Bone involvement
-> more slowly progressive
How is Gaucher disease treated?
Replacement therapy w/ recombinant enzymes or bone marrow transplant
What enzyme is defective in Fabry disease and what substrate accumulates?
alpha-galactosidase A
-> accumulates Gb3 or ceramide trihexose
How will presentation in Fabry disease differ between the sexes?
X-linked disease so
Males have most severe disease and will have full spectrum of manifestations
Females will be asymptomatic or have variable manifestations / later onset because of lyonization (random X inactivation)
What is the triad of early symptoms to remember as early manifestations of Fabry disease?
- Angiokeratomas - spotty skin lesions (red, punctate) due to dilation of capillaries
- Hypohidrosis - decreased sweating ability
- Acroparesthesia - peripheral neuropathy causing pain in hands / feet
What is cornea verticillata?
Corneal spiral streaks also sometimes seen in Fabry disease
-> due to re-duplication of the corneal basement membrane