Severe Arterial Tortuosity

Arterial Tortuosity Syndrome: An Ascorbate Compartmentalization Disorder?

Significance: Cardiovascular disorders are the most important cause of morbidity and mortality in the Western world. Monogenic developmental disorders of the heart and vessels are highly valuable to study the physiological and pathological processes in cardiovascular system homeostasis. The arterial tortuosity syndrome (ATS) is a rare, autosomal recessive connective tissue disorder showing lengthening, tortuosity, and stenosis of the large arteries, with a propensity for aneurysm formation. In histopathology, it associates with fragmentation and disorganization of elastic fibers in several tissues, including the arterial wall. ATS is caused by pathogenic variants in SLC2A10 encoding the facilitative glucose transporter (GLUT)10. Critical Issues: Although several hypotheses have been forwarded, the molecular mechanisms linking disrupted GLUT10 activity with arterial malformations are largely unknown. Recent Advances: The vascular and systemic manifestations and natural history of ATS patients have been largely delineated. GLUT10 was identified as an intracellular transporter of dehydroascorbic acid, which contributes to collagen and elastin cross-linking in the endoplasmic reticulum, redox homeostasis in the mitochondria, and global and gene-specific methylation/hydroxymethylation affecting epigenetic regulation in the nucleus. We revise here the current knowledge on ATS and the role of GLUT10 within the compartmentalization of ascorbate in physiological and diseased states. Future Directions: Centralization of clinical, treatment, and outcome data will enable better management for ATS patients. Establishment of representative animal disease models could facilitate the study of pathomechanisms underlying ATS. This might be relevant for other forms of vascular dysplasia, such as isolated aneurysm formation, hypertensive vasculopathy, and neovascularization. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 34, 875-889.

Progression of arterial toursosity syndrome to multiple aneurysms: Role of defining aortic flow and biomechanics

Arterial tortuosity syndrome (ATS) is a rare aortopathy characterized by multiple areas of tortuosity, stenosis and aneurysms in large and mid-sized arteries. The management of this syndrome is challenging because its complexity and variability in presentation and progression require a thorough understanding of the biological and biomechanical changes that occur in the arterial system. Here we describe, for the first time, the progression of this disease diagnosed in a 3-year old girl and the use of modern imaging modalities including cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) 4D Flow, 3D modeling, and computational fluid dynamic simulation to characterize the complex aortic flow and its biomechanics. The integration of these modalities with the clinical evaluation will help in our understanding of this disease and provide patient-specific management.