Fabry cardiomyopathy: missing links from genotype to phenotype

Generation of human induced pluripotent stem cell line MHHi029-A from a male Fabry disease patient carrying c.959A > T mutation

Fabry disease (FD) is a rare and inherited monogenetic disease caused by mutations in the X-chromosomal alpha-galactosidase A gene GLA concomitant with accumulation of its substrate globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) and multi-organ symptoms. We derived an induced pluripotent stem cell line, MHHi029-A, from a male FD patient carrying a c.959A > T missense mutation in the GLA gene. The hiPSCs show a normal karyotype, expression of pluripotency markers and trilineage differentiation capacity. Importantly, they present the patient-specific mutation in the GLA gene and are therefore a valuable resource for investigating the FD mechanism and identifying novel therapies.

Mono-symptomatic Fabry disease in a population with mild-to-moderate left ventricular hypertrophy

Fabry disease (FD) results from a deficiency in the exoglycohydrolase, α-galactosidase A (AGA), an enzyme required for the sequential degradation of glycosphingolipids, which consequently accumulate in the lysosomes of affected cells. An X-linked inherited metabolic disorder, FD has a high incidence of a later onset phenotype that is under-diagnosed and under-recognised in adulthood despite the availability of specific treatment. As the first presenting feature in adults is often left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), we hypothesized that testing patients with an attenuated echocardiographic phenotype of unexplained hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, might identify cases of undiagnosed FD. We employed a simple screening test by measuring AGA activity in dried blood spots collected from a finger-prick of blood in a cohort of 511 individuals aged between 18 and 75 with LVH between 1.2 and 1.5 cm. Two males were identified with AGA activity below the reference interval and subsequent molecular testing confirmed the commonly reported genetic variants, p.Ala143Thr in one individual and p.Asn215Ser, in the other. Additional biochemical measurement of plasma, lyso-Gb1 was normal in both patients. Of the 179 females screened, one individual returned AGA activity slightly below the reference interval but was lost to further follow-up. This pilot study suggests that screening patients with mild-to-moderate LVH of unknown aetiology does indeed identify undiagnosed cases of FD.

Laboratory Diagnosis of Lysosomal Diseases: Newborn Screening to Treatment

The goal of screening programs for inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) is early detection and timely intervention to significantly reduce morbidity, mortality and associated disabilities. Phenylketonuria exemplifies their success as neonates are identified at birth and then promptly treated allowing normal neurological development. Lysosomal diseases comprise about 50 IEM arising from a deficiency in a protein required for proper lysosomal function. Typically, these defects are in lysosomal enzymes with the concomitant accumulation of the enzyme's substrate as the cardinal feature. None of the lysosomal diseases are screened at birth in Australia and in the absence of a family history, traditional laboratory diagnosis of the majority, involves demonstrating a deficiency of the requisite enzyme. Diagnostic confusion can arise from interpretation of the degree of residual enzyme activity causative of disease and is impractical when the disorder is not due to an enzyme deficiency per se. Advances in mass spectrometry technologies has enabled simultaneous measurement of the enzymes' substrates and their metabolites which facilitates the efficiency of diagnosis. Employing urine chemistry as a reflection of multisystemic disease, individual lysosomal diseases can be identified by a characteristic substrate pattern complicit with the enzyme deficiency. Determination of lipids in plasma allows the diagnosis of a further class of lysosomal disorders, the sphingolipids. The ideal goal would be to measure biomarkers for each specific lysosomal disorder in the one mass spectrometry-based platform to achieve a diagnosis. Confirmation of the diagnosis is usually by identifying pathogenic variants in the underlying gene, and although molecular genetic technologies can provide the initial diagnosis, the biochemistry will remain important for interpreting molecular variants of uncertain significance.