Benign course of glycogen storage disease type IIb in two brothers: Nature or nurture?

Acid α-glucosidase (GAA) activity and glycogen content in muscle biopsy specimens of patients with Pompe disease: A systematic review

Pompe disease is a rare genetic disorder characterized by a deficiency of acid α-glucosidase (GAA), leading to the accumulation of glycogen in various tissues, especially in skeletal muscles. The disease manifests as a large spectrum of phenotypes from infantile-onset Pompe disease (IOPD) to late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD), depending on the age of symptoms onset. Quantifying GAA activity and glycogen content in skeletal muscle provides important information about the disease severity. However, the distribution of GAA and glycogen levels in skeletal muscles from healthy individuals and those impacted by Pompe disease remains poorly understood, and there is currently no universally accepted standard assay for GAA activity measurement. This systematic literature review aims to provide an overview of the available information on GAA activity and glycogen content levels in skeletal muscle biopsies from patients with Pompe disease. A structured review of PubMed and Google Scholar literature (with the latter used to check that no additional publications were identified) was conducted to identify peer-reviewed publications on glycogen storage disease type II [MeSH term] + GAA, protein human (supplementary concept), Pompe, muscle; and muscle, acid alpha-glucosidase. A limit of English language was applied. Results were grouped by methodologies used to quantify GAA activity and glycogen content in skeletal muscle. The search and selection strategy were devised and carried out in line with Preferred Reporting of Items in Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines and documented using a flowchart. Bibliographies of papers included in the analysis were reviewed and applicable publications not already identified in the search were included. Of the 158 articles retrieved, 24 (comprising >100 muscle biopsies from >100 patients) were included in the analysis, with four different assays. Analysis revealed that patients with IOPD exhibited markedly lower GAA activity in skeletal muscles than those with LOPD, regardless of the measurement method employed. Additionally, patients with IOPD had notably higher glycogen content levels in skeletal muscles than those with LOPD. In general, however, it was difficult to fully characterize GAA activity because of the different methods used. The findings underscore the challenges in the interpretation and comparison of the results across studies because of the substantial methodological variations. There is a need to establish standardized reference ranges of GAA activity and glycogen content in healthy individuals and in Pompe disease patients based on globally standardized methods to improve comparability and reliability in assessing this rare disease.

Rare Variants in Autophagy and Non-Autophagy Genes in Late-Onset Pompe Disease: Suggestions of Their Disease-Modifying Role in Two Italian Families

Pompe disease is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by a deficiency in the enzyme acid alpha-glucosidase. The late-onset form of Pompe disease (LOPD) is characterized by a slowly progressing proximal muscle weakness, often involving respiratory muscles. In LOPD, the levels of GAA enzyme activity and the severity of the clinical pictures may be highly variable among individuals, even in those who harbour the same combination of GAA mutations. The result is an unpredictable genotype–phenotype correlation. The purpose of this study was to identify the genetic factors responsible for the progression, severity and drug response in LOPD. We report here on a detailed clinical, morphological and genetic study, including a whole exome sequencing (WES) analysis of 11 adult LOPD siblings belonging to two Italian families carrying compound heterozygous GAA mutations. We disclosed a heterogeneous pattern of myopathic impairment, associated, among others, with cardiac defects, intracranial vessels abnormality, osteoporosis, vitamin D deficiency, obesity and adverse response to enzyme replacement therapy (ERT). We identified deleterious variants in the genes involved in autophagy, immunity and bone metabolism, which contributed to the severity of the clinical symptoms observed in the LOPD patients. This study emphasizes the multisystem nature of LOPD and highlights the polygenic nature of the complex phenotype disclosed in these patients.

Exercise training alone or in combination with high-protein diet in patients with late onset Pompe disease: results of a cross over study

Background

Late onset Pompe disease (LOPD) is a lysosomal neuromuscular disorder which can progressively impair the patients’ exercise tolerance, motor and respiratory functions, and quality of life. The available enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) does not completely counteract disease progression. We investigated the effect of exercise training alone, or associated with a high-protein diet, on the exercise tolerance, muscle and pulmonary functions, and quality of life of LOPD patients on long term ERT.

Methods

The patients were asked to participate to a crossover randomized study comprehending a control period (free diet, no exercise) followed by 2 intervention periods: exercise or exercise + diet, each lasting 26 weeks and separated by 13 weeks washout periods. Exercise training included moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on a cycle ergometer, stretching and balance exercises, strength training. The diet was composed by 25–30% protein, 30–35% carbohydrate and 35–40% fat. Before and after each period patients were assessed for: exercise tolerance test on a cycle-ergometer, serum muscle enzymes, pulmonary function tests and SF36 questionnaire for quality of life. Compliance was evaluated by training and dietary diaries. Patients were contacted weekly by researchers to optimize adherence to treatments.

Results

Thirteen LOPD patients, median age 49 ± 11 years, under chronic ERT (median 6.0 ± 4.0 years) were recruited. Peak aerobic power (peak pulmonary O₂ uptake) decreased after control, whereas it increased after exercise, and more markedlyafter exercise + diet. Serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) significantly decreased after exercise + diet; both creatine kinase (CK) and LDH levels were significantly reduced after exercise + diet compared to exercise. Pulmonary function showed no changes after control and exercise, whereas a significant improvement of forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) was observed after exercise + diet. SF36 showed a slight improvement in the “mental component” scale after exercise, and a significant improvement in “general health” and “vitality” after exercise + diet. The compliance to prescriptions was higher than 70% for both diet and exercise.

Conclusions

Exercise tolerance (as evaluated by peak aerobic power) showed a tendency to decrease in LOPD patients on long term ERT. Exercise training, particularly if combined with high-protein diet, could reverse this decrease and result in an improvement, which was accompanied by improved quality of life. The association of the two lifestyle interventions resulted also in a reduction of muscle enzyme levels and improved pulmonary function.

Combined aerobic exercise and enzyme replacement therapy rejuvenates the mitochondrial-lysosomal axis and alleviates autophagic blockage in Pompe disease

A unifying feature in the pathogenesis of aging, neurodegenerative disease, and lysosomal storage disorders is the progressive deposition of macromolecular debris impervious to enzyme catalysis by cellular waste disposal mechanisms (e.g., lipofuscin). Aerobic exercise training (AET) has pleiotropic effects and stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis, antioxidant defense systems, and autophagic flux in multiple organs and tissues. Our aim was to explore the therapeutic potential of AET as an ancillary therapy to mitigate autophagic buildup and oxidative damage and rejuvenate the mitochondrial-lysosomal axis in Pompe disease (GSD II/PD). Fourteen weeks of combined recombinant acid α-glucosidase (rhGAA) and AET polytherapy attenuated mitochondrial swelling, fortified antioxidant defense systems, reduced oxidative damage, and augmented glycogen clearance and removal of autophagic debris/lipofuscin in fast-twitch skeletal muscle of GAA-KO mice. Ancillary AET potently augmented the pool of PI4KA transcripts and exerted a mild restorative effect on Syt VII and VAMP-5/myobrevin, collectively suggesting improved endosomal transport and Ca(2+)- mediated lysosomal exocytosis. Compared with traditional rhGAA monotherapy, AET and rhGAA polytherapy effectively mitigated buildup of protein carbonyls, autophagic debris/lipofuscin, and P62/SQSTM1, while enhancing MnSOD expression, nuclear translocation of Nrf-2, muscle mass, and motor function in GAA-KO mice. Combined AET and rhGAA therapy reactivates cellular clearance pathways, mitigates mitochondrial senescence, and strengthens antioxidant defense systems in GSD II/PD. Aerobic exercise training (or pharmacologic targeting of contractile-activity-induced pathways) may have therapeutic potential for mitochondrial-lysosomal axis rejuvenation in lysosomal storage disorders and related conditions (e.g., aging and neurodegenerative disease).

Suppression of mTORC1 activation in acid-α-glucosidase-deficient cells and mice is ameliorated by leucine supplementation

Pompe disease is due to a deficiency in acid-α-glucosidase (GAA) and results in debilitating skeletal muscle wasting, characterized by the accumulation of glycogen and autophagic vesicles. Given the role of lysosomes as a platform for mTORC1 activation, we examined mTORC1 activity in models of Pompe disease. GAA-knockdown C2C12 myoblasts and GAA-deficient human skin fibroblasts of infantile Pompe patients were found to have decreased mTORC1 activation. Treatment with the cell-permeable leucine analog L-leucyl-L-leucine methyl ester restored mTORC1 activation. In vivo, Pompe mice also displayed reduced basal and leucine-stimulated mTORC1 activation in skeletal muscle, whereas treatment with a combination of insulin and leucine normalized mTORC1 activation. Chronic leucine feeding restored basal and leucine-stimulated mTORC1 activation, while partially protecting Pompe mice from developing kyphosis and the decline in muscle mass. Leucine-treated Pompe mice showed increased spontaneous activity and running capacity, with reduced muscle protein breakdown and glycogen accumulation. Together, these data demonstrate that GAA deficiency results in reduced mTORC1 activation that is partly responsible for the skeletal muscle wasting phenotype. Moreover, mTORC1 stimulation by dietary leucine supplementation prevented some of the detrimental skeletal muscle dysfunction that occurs in the Pompe disease mouse model.

Distinct disease phenotypes linked to different combinations of GAA mutations in a large late-onset GSDII sibship

Background

Glycogenosis type II (GSDII or Pompe disease) is an autosomal recessive disease, often characterized by a progressive accumulation of glycogen within lysosomes caused by a deficiency of α-1,4-glucosidase (GAA; acid maltase), a key enzyme of the glycogen degradation pathway. To date, more than 326 different mutations in the GAA gene have been identified in patients with GSDII but the course of the disease is difficult to be predicted on the basis of molecular genetic changes. Studies on large informative families are advisable to better define how genetics and non genetics factors like exercise and diet may influence the clinical phenotype.

Methods and results

In this study, we report on clinical, instrumental, and pathological features as well as on molecular analysis of a family with 10 out of 13 siblings affected by late-onset Pompe disease. Three mutations segregated in the family, two of which are novel mutations. Siblings showing a more severe phenotype were compound heterozygous for c.118C > T [p.R40X] and c.2647-7G > A [p.N882fs] on GAA, whereas, two patients showing a mild phenotype were compound heterozygous c.2647-7G > A [p.N882fs] and c.2276G > C [p.G759A] mutations. Quantitative expression analysis showed, in the patients carrying p.R40X/ p.N882fs, a significant (p 0.01) correlation between the levels of expression of the mutated allele and the age at onset of the disease.

Conclusions

As far as we know, this is the largest informative family with late-onset Pompe disease described in the literature showing a peculiar complex set of mutations of GAA gene that may partially elucidate the clinical heterogeneity of this family.

Consensus treatment recommendations for late-onset Pompe disease

INTRODUCTION

Pompe disease is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder caused by deficiency of the glycogen-degrading lysosomal enzyme acid alpha-glucosidase. Late-onset Pompe disease is a multisystem condition, with a heterogeneous clinical presentation that mimics other neuromuscular disorders.

METHODS

Objective is to propose consensus-based treatment and management recommendations for late-onset Pompe disease.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature by a panel of specialists with expertise in Pompe disease was undertaken.

CONCLUSIONS

A multidisciplinary team should be involved to properly treat the pulmonary, neuromuscular, orthopedic, and gastrointestinal elements of late-onset Pompe disease. Presymptomatic patients with subtle objective signs of Pompe disease (and patients symptomatic at diagnosis) should begin treatment with enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) immediately; presymptomatic patients without symptoms or signs should be observed without use of ERT. After 1 year of ERT, patients' condition should be reevaluated to determine whether ERT should be continued.

Pompe's disease

Pompe's disease, glycogen-storage disease type II, and acid maltase deficiency are alternative names for the same metabolic disorder. It is a pan-ethnic autosomal recessive trait characterised by acid alpha-glucosidase deficiency leading to lysosomal glycogen storage. Pompe's disease is also regarded as a muscular disorder, but the generalised storage of glycogen causes more than mobility and respiratory problems. The clinical spectrum is continuous and broad. First symptoms can present in infants, children, and adults. Cardiac hypertrophy is a key feature of classic infantile Pompe's disease. For a long time, there was no means to stop disease progression, but the approval of enzyme replacement therapy has substantially changed the prospects for patients. With this new development, the disease is now among the small but increasing number of lysosomal storage disorders, for which treatment has become a reality. This review is meant to raise general awareness, to present and discuss the latest insights in disease pathophysiology, and to draw attention to new developments about diagnosis and care. We also discuss the developments that led to the approval of enzyme replacement therapy with recombinant human alpha-glucosidase from Chinese hamster ovary cells (alglucosidase alfa) by the US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency in 2006, and review clinical practice.

Therapeutic approaches in glycogen storage disease type II/Pompe Disease

Glycogen storage disease type II (GSDII)/Pompe disease is an autosomal recessive multi-system disorder due to a deficiency of the glycogen-degrading lysosomal enzyme, acid alpha-glucosidase. Without adequate levels of alpha-glucosidase, there is a progressive accumulation of glycogen inside the lysosome, resulting in lysosomal expansion in many tissues, although the major clinical manifestations are seen in cardiac and skeletal muscle. Pompe disease presents as a continuum of clinical phenotypes. In the most severe cases, disease onset occurs in infancy and death results from cardiac and respiratory failure within the first 1 or 2 years of life. In the milder late-onset forms, cardiac muscle is spared and muscle weakness is the primary symptom. Weakness of respiratory muscles is the major cause of mortality in these cases. Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with alglucosidase alfa (Myozyme; Genzyme Corp., Framingham, MA) is now available for all forms of glycogen storage disease type II. ERT has shown remarkable success in reversing pathology in cardiac muscle and extending life expectancy in infantile patients. However, skeletal muscle has proven to be a more challenging target for ERT. Although ERT is less effective in skeletal muscle than was hoped for, the lessons learned from both clinical and pre-clinical ERT studies have greatly expanded our understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease. A combination of fundamental studies and clinical follow-up, as well as exploration of other therapies, is necessary to take treatment for glycogen storage disease type II to the next level.

Physical therapy management of Pompe disease

Pompe disease (Glycogen storage disease type II, GSDII, or acid maltase deficiency) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by deficiency of acid alpha-glucosidase resulting in intra-lysosomal accumulation of glycogen and leading to progressive muscle dysfunction. The natural history of infantile-onset Pompe disease is characterized by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and profound generalized weakness presenting in the first few months of life, with rapid progression and death usually occurring by one year of age. Late-onset Pompe disease is characterized by onset of symptoms after one year of age, less severe or absence of cardiac involvement and slower progression, with symptoms primarily related to progressive dysfunction of skeletal muscles and respiratory muscle involvement. Recent clinical trials of enzyme replacement therapy have begun to allow greater opportunity for potential improvement in motor status, function, and survival than ever before, with hopes of moving toward maximizing physical function for individuals with Pompe disease. Children are living longer with some achieving independent sitting, creeping, and walking-milestones typically never achieved in the untreated natural history of the disorder. With increased survival, clinical management based on an understanding of the pathology and pathokinesiology of motor function gains importance. This article reviews current knowledge regarding the motor system in Pompe disease and provides an overview of physical therapy management of Pompe disease, including management strategies for individuals on enzyme replacement therapy.

Modification of the natural history of adult-onset acid maltase deficiency by nutrition and exercise therapy

Adult-onset acid maltase deficiency is an inherited lysosomal skeletal-muscle disease characterized by progressive myopathy and respiratory failure, for which there is no known therapy. In an uncontrolled, prospective study, we evaluated whether adherence to high-protein and low-carbohydrate nutrition and exercise therapy (NET) can slow the progressive deterioration of muscle function in this disease. Thirty-four patients have been treated with NET for periods of 2-10 years (mean 4.5 +/- 2.5). Pre-NET rate of muscle function deterioration, as measured by the Walton scale, was compared to post-NET rate. Twenty-six patients were deemed to be consistently compliant with NET. Difference between pre-NET slope of muscle function deterioration to that of post-NET slope in compliant patients was -0.29 (95% CI -0.19, 0.39) (P < 0.0001). We conclude that compliance with NET can slow deterioration of muscle function and improve the natural history of adult-onset acid maltase deficiency. Muscle Nerve, 2006.