biochemical genetic disorders
caused by enzyme deficiency
biochemical genetics inheritance
most commonly autosomal recessive
PKU treatment
-restriction of protein in diet
+remove Phe, add tyrosine with formula
-BH4 supplementation (Kuvan) for some individuals with cofactor defect or with residual activity mutation
alkaptonuria
disorder of catabolism of tyrosine due to build up of substrates
alternative products
can be produced due to accumulation of substrates and failed conversion to normal product
PKU pathogenesis
-deficiency of PAH
-tyrosine fails to be produced
+catecholemines and neurotransmitters affected by loss of precursor
-get atypical production and urine secretion of phenylketones (phenylpyruvate, phenylacetate) due to accumulation of substrate
-elevated blood Phe levels buildup causes mental impairment
CAH
group of enzyme defects related to cortisol production from cholesterol
21-hydroxylase
most commonly mutated enzyme in CAH
NBS detection of 21-hydroxylase deficiency
high levels of 17-hydroxyprogesterone and low levels of cortisol in the blood
-high false positive seen in babies born prematurely
low cortisol level effects
- problems with fasting intolerance
effects of androgen build-up
virilization in females
reasoning behind recessive inheritance of IEMs
-most enzymes operate below full capacity & most physiological substrate concentration is below enzyme saturation
+only need about 10% enzyme function to avoid symptoms
+balance allows homeostasis to be maintained and gives enzymes chance to respond dynamically to substrate concentration changes
arginase deficiency/arginemia
harmful double substrate
if the doubled concentration is problematic, the enzyme is inherited in a dominant fashion
*most heterozygotes unaffected
amino acid studies
organic acid studies
when to pursue AA and OA studies
usually performed by pediatricians, but can be done as confirmatory or follow-up studies to NBS or monitoring of therapy for affected child
acylcarnitine profile
-designed to be done on urine but now done on blood via tandem mass spec
-reflects the intracellular concentrations of acyl-CoA
+accumulating derivatives aren’t measurable in blood or urine
+report shows molecular weight or carbon number with the number of double bonds
enzyme assays
-can be performed on blood or biopsied samples
-measuring Vmax of activity in the tissue, not physiological activity
+makes some kinetic variants easy to miss because maximal activity can be normal, but at physiologic levels may not be
-stability of samples can make accuracy difficult
enzyme assay sources
\+WBC \+serum-non cell samples \+NBS dried blood spot \+skin fibroblasts \+sometimes more invasive liver or muscle biopsies are necessary
CRM assay
treatment of CRM negative patients
can be more difficult because individuals have never been exposed to protein
gene sequencing for biochemical disorders
-preferable in some cases because most IEMs have causative loci & reduces issues that occur with enzymatic assay
+gene panels can also be helpful due to locus heterogeneity
+polymorphisms, VUSs and benign variants can also complicate interpretation
point mutations in IEMs
- likely to allow for some enzymatic activity