Clinical, biochemical and genetic analyses in two Korean patients with medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency

Newborn screening for fatty acid oxidation disorders in a southern Chinese population

Background and aims

Fatty acid oxidation disorders (FAODs) are a group of autosomal recessive metabolic diseases included in many newborn screening (NBS) programs, but the incidence and disease spectrum vary widely between ethnic groups. We aimed to elucidate the incidence, disease spectrum, and genetic features of FAODs in a southern Chinese population.

Materials and methods

The FAODs screening results of 643,606 newborns from 2014 to 2022 were analyzed.

Results

Ninety-two patients were eventually diagnosed with FAODs, of which 61 were PCD, 20 were MADD, 5 were SCADD, 4 were VLCADD, and 2 were CPT-IAD. The overall incidence of FAODs was 1:6996 (95 % CI: 1:5814-1:8772) newborns. All PCD patients had low C0 levels during NBS, while nine patients (14.8 %) had normal C0 levels during the recall review. All but one MADD patients had elevated C8, C10, and C12 levels during NBS, while eight patients (40 %) had normal acylcarnitine levels during the recall review. The most frequent SLC22A5 variant was c.760C > T (p.R254*) with an allele frequency of 29.51 %, followed by c.51C > G (p.F17L) (17.21 %) and c.1400C > G (p.S467C) (16.39 %). The most frequent ETFDH variant was c.250G > A (p.A84T) with an allelic frequency of 47.5 %, followed by c.524G > A (R175H) (12.5 %), c.998A > G (p.Y333C) (12.5 %), and c.1657T > C (p.Y553H) (7.5 %).

Conclusion

The prevalence, disease spectrum, and genetic characteristics of FAODs in a southern Chinese population were clarified. PCD was the most common FAOD, followed by MADD. Hotspot variants were found in SLC22A5 and ETFDH genes, while the remaining FAODs showed great molecular heterogeneity. Incorporating second-tier genetic screening is critical for FAODs.

Clinical, Biochemical, and Molecular Analyses of Medium-Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency in Chinese Patients

Objective

Medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD) is a rare inherited metabolic disorder of fatty acid β-oxidation. The present study aimed to evaluate clinical and biochemical manifestations, and the mutation spectrum of this disorder in a large cohort of Chinese patients.

Methods

A total of 24 patients were enrolled, and blood acylcarnitine and urinary organic acid levels were measured by tandem mass spectrometry and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), respectively. Mutations in the ACADM gene were detected by Sanger or next-generation sequencing. Clinical progression, acylcarnitine spectra, and mutations were analyzed and described in detail.

Results

Among the 24 patients, six cases were diagnosed because of disease onset with symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, convulsion, and hypoglycemia; 18 patients without symptoms were diagnosed by newborn screening (NBS). All patients who accepted treatment after diagnosis developed normal intelligence and physique. The concentrations of octanoylcarnitine, the octanoylcarnitine/decanoylcarnitine ratio, and the octanoylcarnitine/acetylcarnitine ratio in the blood and urinary dicarboxylic acid concentrations were consistently elevated. Blood biomarkers failed to decrease after treatment. DNA sequencing revealed seven known and 17 novel mutations in the ACADM gene of patients. Mutation p.T150Rfs^∗4 was most frequent, followed by p.R31C, p.F103Y, p.I223T, p.G362E, and c.387+1delG.

Conclusion

Despite biochemical abnormalities, medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency showed relatively mild clinical phenotypes with low mortality and optimistic prognoses in China. NBS is crucial for early diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.

Spectrum analysis of inborn errors of metabolism for expanded newborn screening in a northwestern Chinese population

Expanded newborn screening facilitates early identification and intervention of patients with inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs), There is a lack of disease spectrum data for many areas in China. To determine the disease spectrum and genetic characteristics of IEMs in Xi'an city of Shaanxi province in northwest China, 146152 newborns were screening by MSMS from January 2014 to December 2019 and 61 patients were referred to genetic analysis by next generation sequencing (NGS) and validated by Sanger sequencing. Seventy-five newborns and two mothers were diagnosed with IEMs, with an overall incidence of 1:1898 (1:1949 without mothers). There were 35 newborns with amino acidemias (45.45%, 1:4176), 28 newborns with organic acidurias (36.36%, 1:5220), and 12 newborns and two mothers with FAO disorders (18.18%; 1:10439 or 1:12179 without mothers). Phenylketonuria and methylmalonic acidemia were the two most common disorders, accounting for 65.33% (49/75) of all confirmed newborn. Some hotspot mutations were observed for several IEMs, including PAH gene c.728G>A for phenylketonuria; MMACHC gene c.609G>A and c.567dupT, MMUT gene c.323G>A for methylmalonic acidemia and SLC25A13 gene c.852_855del for citrin deficiency. Our study provides effective clinical guidance for the popularization and application of expanded newborn screening, genetic screening, and genetic counseling of IEMs in this region.

Genetic characteristics and follow-up of patients with fatty acid β-oxidation disorders through expanded newborn screening in a Northern Chinese population

Background Fatty acid β-oxidation disorders (FAODs) include more than 15 distinct disorders and have a wide variety of symptoms, usually not evident between episodes of acute decompensation. After the introduction of newborn screening (NBS) using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), early identification of FAODs has become feasible. We analyzed the MS/MS results in Tianjin, China during a six-year period to evaluate the incidence, disease spectrum, and genetic characteristics of FAODs. Methods We analyzed the MS/MS results for screening FAODs from May 2013 to December 2018 in Tianjin, China. Infants with positive screening results were confirmed through next-generation sequencing and validated by Sanger sequencing. Results A total of 220,443 infants were screened and 25 FAODs patients were identified (1:8,817). Primary carnitine deficiency (PCD) with an incidence rate up to 1:20,040 was the most common disorder among all FAODs. Recurrent mutations of relatively common diseases, like PCD and short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (SCADD), were identified. During the follow-up, two patients suffered from sudden death due to carnitine palmitoyl transferase-Ⅱ deficiency (CPT Ⅱ) and very-long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (VLCAD). Conclusion Our data indicated that FAODs are relatively common in Tianjin and may even cause infant death in certain cases. The elucidated disease spectrum and genetic backgrounds elucidated in this study may contribute to the treatment and prenatal genetic counseling of FAODs.

New Ratios for Performance Improvement for Identifying Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiencies in Expanded Newborn Screening: A Retrospective Study

Some success in identifying acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (ACAD) deficiencies before they are symptomatic has been achieved through tandem mass spectrometry. However, there has been several challenges that need to be confronted, including excess false positives, the occasional false negatives and indicators selection. To select ideal indicators and evaluate their performance for identifying ACAD deficiencies, data from 352,119 newborn babies, containing 20 cases, were used in this retrospective study. A total of three new ratios, C4/C5DC+C6-OH, C8/C14:1, and C14:1/C16-OH, were selected from 43 metabolites. Around 903 ratios derived from pairwise combinations of all metabolites via multivariate logistic regression analysis were used. In the current study, the regression analysis was performed to identify short chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (SCAD) deficiency, medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency, and very long chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (VLCAD) deficiency. In both model-building and testing data, the C4/C5DC+C6-OH, C8/C14:1 and C14:1/C16-OH were found to be better indicators for SCAD, MCAD and VLCAD deficiencies, respectively, compared to [C4, (C4, C4/C2)], [C8, (C6, C8, C8/C2, C4DC+C5-OH/C8:1)], and [C14:1, (C14:1, C14:1/C16, C14:1/C2)], respectively. In addition, 22 mutations, including 5 novel mutations and 17 reported mutations, in ACADS, ACADM, and ACADL genes were detected in 20 infants with ACAD deficiency by using high-thorough sequencing based on target capture. The pathogenic mutations of c.1031A > G in ACADS, c.449_452delCTGA in ACADM and c.1349G > A in ACADL were found to be hot spots in Suzhou patients with SCAD, MCAD, and VLCAD, respectively. In conclusion, we had identified three new ratios that could improve the performance for ACAD deficiencies compared to the used indicators. We considered to utilize C4/C5DC+C6-OH, C8/C14:1, and C14:1/C16-OH as primary indicators for SCAD, MCAD, and VLCAD deficiency, respectively, in further expanded newborn screening practice. In addition, the spectrum of mutations in Suzhou population enriches genetic data of Chinese patients with one of ACAD deficiencies.

Medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency: Six cases in the Chinese population

BACKGROUND

Medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder that affects the degradation of medium-chain fatty acids. Few cases of MCADD have been documented to date in mainland China.

METHODS

Medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency was diagnosed in six patients (three girls and three boys) from six unrelated Chinese families at ages ranging from 10 days to 3 years old. The diagnosis was confirmed by the identification of a primary biomarker of serum octanoyl-carnitine (C8) and genetic pathogenic mutations.

RESULTS

Only two patients were admitted because of vomiting, diarrhea, myasthenia, and coma; the other four patients were diagnosed via the newborn screening process. Six mutations were found in acyl-CoA dehydrogenase medium chain (ACADM). One mutation (c.727C>T) was novel and the others (c.158G>A, c.387+1delG, c.449_452del, c.1045C>T, and c.1085G>A) have been previously reported.

CONCLUSIONS

Six Chinese cases of MCADD were identified. One novel mutation was found. c.449_452del and c.1085G>A were common mutations in this study.

Screening of MCAD deficiency in Japan: 16years' experience of enzymatic and genetic evaluation

BACKGROUND

Medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency is a representative disorder of fatty acid oxidation and is one of the most prevalent inborn errors of metabolism among Caucasian populations. In Japan, however, it was as late as 2000 when the first patient was found, and enzymatic and genetic evaluation of MCAD deficiency began.

METHODS

We measured octanoyl-CoA dehydrogenase activity in lymphocytes of symptomatic children and newborn screening (NBS)-positive subjects who showed elevated levels of C8-acylcarnitine in blood. The results were further confirmed by direct sequencing of the ACADM gene.

RESULTS

The disease was diagnosed in 9 out of 18 symptomatic children. The affected patients showed residual activities from 0% to 3% of the normal average value, except for one patient with 10% activity. Concerning 50 NBS-positive subjects, 18 with enzymatic activities around 10% or lower and 14 with activities ranging from 13% to 30% were judged to be affected patients, and biallelic variants were detected in most of the cases tested. Newborns with higher enzymatic activities were estimated to be heterozygous carriers or healthy subjects, though biallelic variants were detected in 5 of them. Genetic analysis detected 22 kinds of variant alleles. The most prevalent was c.449_452delCTGA (p.T150Rfs), which was followed by c.50G>A (p.R17H), c.1085G>A (p.G362E), c.157C>T (p.R53C), and c.843A>T (p.R281S); these five variants accounted for approximately 60% of all the alleles examined.

CONCLUSION

Our study has revealed the unique genetic backgrounds of MCAD deficiency among Japanese, based on the largest series of non-Caucasian cases. A continuous spectrum of severity was also observed in our series of NBS-positive cases, suggesting that it is essential for every nation and ethnic group to accumulate its own information on gene variants, together with their enzymatic evaluation, in order to establish an efficient NBS system for MCAD deficiency.

Clinical and molecular aspects of Japanese children with medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency

We report the outcome of 16 Japanese patients with medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency. Of them, 7 patients were diagnosed after metabolic crisis, while 9 were detected in the asymptomatic condition. Of the 7 symptomatic cases, 1 died suddenly, and 4 cases had delayed development. All 9 patients identified by neonatal or sibling screening remained healthy. Of 14 mutations identified, 10 were unique for Japanese, and 4 were previously reported in other nationalities. Presymptomatic detection including neonatal screening obviously improves quality of life of Japanese patients, probably regardless of the genotypes.