DHPLC screening for mutations in progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis patients

Structure and Function of Hepatobiliary ATP Binding Cassette Transporters

The liver is beyond any doubt the most important metabolic organ of the human body. This function requires an intensive crosstalk within liver cellular structures, but also with other organs. Membrane transport proteins are therefore of upmost importance as they represent the sensors and mediators that shuttle signals from outside to the inside of liver cells and/or vice versa. In this review, we summarize the known literature of liver transport proteins with a clear emphasis on functional and structural information on ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters, which are expressed in the human liver. These primary active membrane transporters form one of the largest families of membrane proteins. In the liver, they play an essential role in for example bile formation or xenobiotic export. Our review provides a state of the art and comprehensive summary of the current knowledge of hepatobiliary ABC transporters. Clearly, our knowledge has improved with a breath-taking speed over the last few years and will expand further. Thus, this review will provide the status quo and will lay the foundation for new and exciting avenues in liver membrane transporter research.

The bile salt export pump (BSEP) in health and disease

The bile salt export pump (BSEP) is the major transporter for the secretion of bile acids from hepatocytes into bile in humans. Mutations of BSEP are associated with cholestatic liver diseases of varying severity including progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 2 (PFIC-2), benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis type 2 (BRIC-2) and genetic polymorphisms are linked to intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) and drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Detailed analysis of these diseases has considerably increased our knowledge about physiology and pathophysiology of bile secretion in humans. This review focuses on expression, localization, and function, short- and long-term regulation of BSEP as well as diseases association and treatment options for BSEP-associated diseases.

Chinese children with chronic intrahepatic cholestasis and high γ-glutamyl transpeptidase: clinical features and association with ABCB4 mutations

OBJECTIVE

The aims of the present study was to study the significance of ABCB4 mutations in mainland Chinese children with chronic intrahepatic cholestasis and to correlate genetic findings with clinical features and response to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) therapy.

METHODS

Thirteen patients with chronic intrahepatic cholestasis and elevated serum γ-glutamyl transpeptidase activity of unknown cause were enrolled in a single pediatric center. All of the encoding exons and flanking areas of ABCB4 were sequenced. Available liver biopsy specimens were immunostained for multidrug resistance protein 3. The clinical features, biochemical parameters, and responses to therapy were compared with patients with or without ABCB4 mutation(s).

RESULTS

Six different ABCB4 mutations were identified in 3 patients; each patient was a compound heterozygote. Apart from c.139C>T (p.R47X), all were novel, including c.344+2_+3insT, c.1376A>G (p.D459G), c.1745G>A (p.R582Q), c.2077_2078delC (p.P693HfsX698), and c.3825_3826delA (p.M1276WfsX1308). Absent or reduced multidrug resistance protein 3 canalicular immunostaining was demonstrated in patients with ABCB4 mutations. Serum total bile acid levels were higher in patients with ABCB4 mutations than in patients without ABCB4 mutations (352.5 ± 97.0 vs 55.9 ± 50.4 μmol/L, P = 7.32E-05). There was no difference in other biochemical parameters between patients with and without ABCB4 mutations. After oral UDCA administration in 3 patients with ABCB4 mutations, pruritus disappeared, growth improved, spleen size decreased, and platelet counts increased. In the 10 patients without ABCB4 mutations, an inconsistent response to UDCA therapy was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

In mainland Chinese children, some cases of chronic intrahepatic cholestasis with high γ-glutamyl transpeptidase could be attributed to ABCB4 mutations. UDCA administration partially improved clinical symptoms and liver function.

Paternal isodisomy of chromosome 2 in a child with bile salt export pump deficiency

We describe a child with progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) of type 2 inherited as uniparental isodisomy of chromosome 2. Bile salt export pump (BSEP) deficiency is a severe, genetically determined subtype PFIC caused by mutations in ABCB11, the gene encoding a bile salt transporter protein. Clinical and pathological diagnosis in PFIC2 is corroborated by an ample array of ABCB11 mutations, inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion. We report clinical, pathological, and molecular studies in a child with PFIC2. A 5.5-year-old boy harbored a described pathogenic mutation (p.R832C) in ABCB11. The mutation was found to be homozygous in the patient and heterozygous in DNA from paternal, but not maternal blood. Having ruled out maternal gene deletion and somatic mosaicism, we showed that the child had inherited an isodisomic paternal chromosome 2, including the 2q31.1 region where ABCB11 is located. The present report is the first description of uniparental isodisomy in a hepatic heritable disorder. Recognizing isodisomic transmission may have a significant impact on genetic counseling helping to define the risk of recurrence in subsequent pregnancies.

Hereditary hyperbilirubinemia and its molecular diagnosis

Hereditary hyperbilirubinemia is caused by genetic defects in the enzymes that control bilirubin metabolism. It includes Gilbert syndrome (GS), Crigler-Najjar syndrome (CNS), Lucey-Driscoll syndrome (LDS), Dubin-Johnson syndrome (DJS), Rotor syndrome (RS) and progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC). This literature review covers the molecular basis of and laboratory detection methods for hereditary hyperbilirubinemia.