Overview of Inborn Errors of Metabolism Flashcards
How do Genetic Defects occur?
Can affect any point of the many elements that control the structure, binding and transcription of the protein
What are some examples of major categories of IEMs?
- Organic acid(aemia)
- Amino Acid
- Purines and Pyrimidines
- Urea Cycle disorders
- Fatty Acid oxidation disorders
- Disorders of carbohydrate metabolism
- Congenital disorders of glycosylation
- Mitochondrial / respiratory chain disorders
- Peroxisomal
- Lysosomal
- Disorders of creatine biosynthesis
- Disorders of biogenic amine metabolism
- Sterol and bile acid metabolism
- Disorders of cobalamin absorption, transport and metabolism
- Disorders of Folate metabolism and transport
What are some mechanisms of disease of IEMs?
- Accumulation of a toxin.
- Energy deficiency
- Deficient production of essential
- Metabolite / structural component
What are some examples of accumulation of toxin?
- Ammonia accumulates in patients with urea cycle defects
-
Porphyrins accumulate in the porphyrias
- Presents in symptoms of mental disease, pain in acute porphyria
- In sensitive porphyria, there is accumulate in the post cursors after PBG and make skin sensitive and acute porphyria is accumulation before PBG
What are some examples of energy deficiency in causing IEMS?
- Galactosaemia: If energy cannot be generated from galactose in early life
- Glycogen storage disorders: If glycogen cannot be developed again,
- Brain cannot use free fatty acids due to blood brain barrier. Free fatty acids are used to form ketones which can be used by the brain. The brain uses ketones in the fasting mode over the glucose.
- Red blood cells can only use glucose for energy which is used to keep its shape. It cannot use free fatty acids due to lack of mitochondria so can lyse if there is low glucose
What are some examples of Deficient production of molecules essential in IEMs?
Defects of neurotransmitter syndrome.
- Enzyme 31.2: aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency. Leads to lack of dopamine and serotonin
Congenital disorder of Glycosylation
- Group of rare genetic disorders characterized by defects in one of the many enzymes, transporters, or other functional proteins, required for the synthesis and processing of glycoconjugates.
What is the clinical presention of congenital disorders of glycosylation?
Broad spectrum including:
- Mental retardation
- Structural abnormalities of the central nervous system
- Cardiac defects
- Physical malformations
- Peripheral neuropathies, etc
What are metabolic pathways involved with energy metabolism?
- Glycolysis
- Pentose phosphate pathway
- Glycogen metabolism
- Kreb’s cycle
- Respiratory chain
- Triglyceride mobilisation
- Fatty acid oxidation
- Ketone body metabolism
- Gluconeogenesis
- Galactose metabolism
- Amino acid catabolism
What are the factors of Clinical Heterogenity in Inborn Errors of Metabolism?
- Genetic variability of lesions, most disorders are multi-allelic
- Variability of other aspects / components of metabolism
- Environment (Diet, Drugs, Infection)
What randon x-inactivation in females?
- X chromosome can be inactivated
- Process cannot be selected or switched back on. This means you can have favourable or unfavourable expression of the X
- Process occurs early in embryology
- Significant variability of phenotype of X related disease in females e.g. the urea defect OTC deficiency
How can OTC defects present in pregnancy?
- Involution in Pregnancy
- Can occur during a massive protein load leading to hyperammonaemia
How can Inborn Errors of Metabolism (IEM) Diagnosed?
Pre-symptomatic Screening
- whole population, neonatal bloodspot screening
- selected groups
Investigation of Symptomatic Individuals
- test body fluids for abnormal metabolites
- measure enzyme activities
- DNA analysis, NGS panels
How is neonatal screening conducted in the UK?
- Phenylketonuria
- MCAD deficiency
- MSUD
- IVA
- GA1
- Hcys
- Hypothyroidism
- Cystic fibrosis
- Sickle disease
What are some presentations of inborn errors of metabolism?
- Acute: medical emergency?, hypoglycaemia, hyperammonaemia, metabolic acidosis
- Chronic: more difficult, need to decide how many investigations to pursue
- Specific clinical features that immediately suggest a disorder or group
What are some conditions that present acutely in IEMs?
- Metabolic acidosis - Propionic acideamia
- Hypoglycaemia - MCAD
- Hyperammonaemia - OTC deficiency