The Cardiovascular Phenotype in Fabry Disease: New Findings in the Research Field.
Int J Mol Sci 2021;
22:ijms22031331. [PMID:
33572752 PMCID:
PMC7865937 DOI:
10.3390/ijms22031331]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Fabry disease (FD) is a lysosomal storage disorder, depending on defects in alpha-galactosidase A (GAL) activity. At the clinical level, FD shows a high phenotype variability. Among them, cardiovascular dysfunction is often recurrent or, in some cases, is the sole symptom (cardiac variant) representing the leading cause of death in Fabry patients. The existing therapies, besides specific symptomatic treatments, are mainly based on the restoration of GAL activity. Indeed, mutations of the galactosidase alpha gene (GLA) cause a reduction or lack of GAL activity leading to globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) accumulation in several organs. However, several other mechanisms are involved in FD’s development and progression that could become useful targets for therapeutics. This review discusses FD’s cardiovascular phenotype and the last findings on molecular mechanisms that accelerate cardiac cell damage.
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