Metabolic Liver Diseases: Wilson Disease and alpha 1-Antitrypsin Deficiency

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uri Avissar

Two significant metabolic diseases of the liver are Wilson disease (WD) and α1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). WD is defined as an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the ATP7B gene of copper metabolism, leading to copper accumulation in multiple organs, notably the liver and brain, with ensuing injury giving way to hepatic and neuropsychiatric symptoms. AATD is also a genetic disorder but is distinguished by the production of a defective protease inhibitor, which leads to hepatic and pulmonary injury. This review of WD and AATD addresses their respective epidemiologies, genetics, pathophysiologies, diagnoses, differential diagnoses, managements, complications, and prognoses. Figures show the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and liver histology of WD; suggested approaches to the diagnosis of WD, suspected WD, and family screening of first-degree relatives of WD patients; monitoring therapy in WD disease; schematic representation of the α1-antitrypsin (AAT) mechanism of action and polymerization of the Z mutation variant; pathophysiology and clinical presentation of AATD; periodic acid–Schiff–positive diastase-resistant globules in AATD; and suggested approach to AAT diagnosis and management. Tables list the causes of low ceruloplasmin, medications used in WD, and AAT variants and risk of disease. This review contains 12 highly rendered figures, 3 tables, and 167 references.

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. e100066
Author(s):  
Margarita Guerrero-Jiménez ◽  
Carmen Maura Carrillo de Albornoz Calahorro ◽  
Luis Gutierrez Rojas

Wilson disease (WD) is an uncommon recessive genetic disorder affecting copper metabolism. Cardiac, neurological, hepatic and renal manifestations are well defined, nevertheless approximately 30% of patients debut with neuropsychiatric symptoms. These psychiatric alterations resulting from the accumulation of this heavy metal in the basal ganglia are some how less specific. We present a short review of psychiatric symptoms of WD and describe a case of a 37-year-old woman diagnosed with WD who presented neuropsychiatric symptoms and had a consequent delay in diagnosis and causal treatment. Patients who develop WD starting with a predominance of neuropsychiatric symptoms tend to manifest hepatic symptoms later, therefore have a longer delay of diagnosis and a poorer outcome than patients with hepatic symptoms. An early diagnosis of WD can avoid irreversible neurological damage.


1994 ◽  
Vol 301 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Yamaguchi ◽  
M E Heiny ◽  
N Shimizu ◽  
T Aoki ◽  
J D Gitlin

Long-Evans Cinnamon rats develop a necrotizing hepatitis characterized by excessive hepatic copper accumulation, defective holoceruloplasmin biosynthesis and impaired biliary copper excretion. To elucidate the molecular basis of this defect, a cDNA clone encoding the rat Wilson disease gene was isolated and used to examine gene expression in selected tissues from normal and Long-Evans Cinnamon rats. Although this cDNA readily detects Wilson transcripts in liver and other tissues from normal rats, such transcripts are entirely absent from tissues derived from the Long-Evans Cinnamon rat strain. These data therefore identify the Long-Evans Cinnamon rat as the first bona fide animal model of Wilson disease and suggest that this rat strain may be a valuable resource in the study of this genetic disorder.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hedwig S. Kruitwagen ◽  
Hille Fieten ◽  
Louis C. Penning

Wilson Disease is a rare autosomal recessive liver disorder in humans. Although its clinical presentation and age of onset are highly variable, hallmarks include signs of liver disease, neurological features and so-called Kayser-Fleischer rings in the eyes of the patient. Hepatic copper accumulation leads to liver disease and eventually to liver cirrhosis. Treatment options include life-long copper chelation therapy and/or decrease in copper intake. Eventually liver transplantations are indicated. Although clinical outcome of liver transplantations is favorable, the lack of suitable donor livers hampers large numbers of transplantations. As an alternative, cell therapies with hepatocytes or liver stem cells are currently under investigation. Stem cell biology in relation to pets is in its infancy. Due to the specific population structure of dogs, canine copper toxicosis is frequently encountered in various dog breeds. Since the histology and clinical presentation resemble Wilson Disease, we combined genetics, gene-editing, and matrices-based stem cell cultures to develop a translational preclinical transplantation model for inherited copper toxicosis in dogs. Here we describe the roadmap followed, starting from the discovery of a causative copper toxicosis mutation in a specific dog breed and culminating in transplantation of genetically-engineered autologous liver stem cells.


2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 208-213
Author(s):  
Mariana Pacurar ◽  
Bogdan Dragomir ◽  
Alina Silvana Szalontay ◽  
Cristian Romanec

Genetics is a key discipline in medicine, but also a clinical discipline with medical and social implications. The interest in reducing the number of genetic disorders and recognizing the risk of them repeating when a family confronts itself with a genetic anomaly becomes more and more important in the hierarchy of prophylactic emergencies. Presenting themselves as metabolic diseases (monogenic mutations) or malformations (polygenic and multifactorial heredity) because of their frequency, these disorders position themselves on an ascendant curve. They become difficult to deal with for the society, for the family and for the interested individual and cause emotional disorders. The Down syndrome is the most frequent type of genetic disorder. It is characterized by a specific set of signs and symptoms. People with Down syndrome require special medical care that, apart from the family, must include a team of doctors of various specializations and also a dentist. They are predisposed to hearing and sight disorders and thyroid problems as well. In 50% of the cases there are also anomalies of the heart, and the risk of leukaemia is 20 times higher. Some of them even develop an Alzheimer type dementia during their life. The people with Down syndrome can have an average IQ up to a moderate form of handicap. In particular, the studies on Down syndrome in dentistry are quite frequent, but they focus more on cavities, periodontal disease and hypodontia. In spite of this, the connection of Down syndrome and dental eruption is less studied. Consequently, the present study is intended to fill this missing part from the specialized literature, focusing on the relation between the Down syndrome and the chronological and dental ages in children. The health of the oral cavity is neglected in these patients, their parents focusing more on the treatment of the other systemic disorders of their children; the lack of interest is reflected in their poor oral hygiene.The trial group included 94 children with mixt dentition, aged between 6 and 12, divided as follows: 36 children with Down syndrome enrolled at the Educational Centre for Inclusive Education no. 1 of Tg. Mures and Alpha Transilvana Foundation. The chronology and the eruption sequences are subjected to certain variations and they are influenced by the presence of cavities, the premature loss or, on the contrary, the prolonged retention of deciduous teeth as well as dental anchylosis. Dental maturation is less subjected to variations, as it is a progressive, continuous and cumulative process. The presence of Down syndrome in children generates a delay in teeth eruption by 1.27 years compared to the data identified in the specialized literature and to the information obtained on the healthy children included in the study.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Fanni ◽  
Clara Gerosa ◽  
Valeria Marina Nurchi ◽  
Rosita Cappai ◽  
Marta Mureddu ◽  
...  

: Wilson disease is a congenital disorder of copper metabolism whose pathogenesis remains, al least in part, unknown. Subjects carrying the same genotype may show completely different phenotypes, differing for the age at illness onset or for the hepatic, neurologic or psychiatric clinical presentation. The inhability to find a unequivocal correlation between the type of mutation in the ATPase copper transporting beta (ATP7B) gene and the phenotypic manifestation, induced many authors to look for epigenetic factors interacting with the genetic changes. Here the evidences regarding the ability of copper overload to change the global DNA methylation status are discussed.


1988 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroko Kodama ◽  
Ichiro Okabe ◽  
Masayoshi Yanagisawa ◽  
Hiroko Nomiyama ◽  
Kazuo Nomiyama ◽  
...  

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 512
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Gilis-Januszewska ◽  
Anna Bogusławska ◽  
Kornelia Hasse-Lazar ◽  
Beata Jurecka-Lubieniecka ◽  
Barbara Jarząb ◽  
...  

Multiple neuroendocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is a rare genetic disorder with an autosomal dominant inheritance, predisposing carriers to benign and malignant tumors. The phenotype of MEN1 syndrome varies between patients in terms of tumor localization, age of onset, and clinical aggressiveness, even between affected members within the same family. We describe a heterogenic phenotype of the MEN1 variant c.781C>T (LRG_509t1), which was previously reported only once in a family with isolated hyperparathyroidism. A heterozygous missense variant in exon 4 of the gene was identified in the sequence of the MEN1 gene, i.e., c.781C>T, leading to the amino acid change p.Leu261Phe in a three-generation family. In the screened family, 5/6 affected members had already developed hyperparathyroidism. In the index patient and two other family members, an aggressive course of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (insulinoma and non-functioning neuroendocrine tumors) with dissemination was diagnosed. In the index patient, late diagnosis and slow progression of the disseminated neuroendocrine tumor have been observed (24 years of follow-up). The very rare variant of MEN1, LRG_509t1 c.781C>T /p.Leu261Phe (LRG_509p1), diagnosed within a three-generation family has a heterogenic clinical presentation. Further follow-up of the family members should be carried out to confirm the spectrum and exact time of clinical presentation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seong-Jong Kim ◽  
Hye Hyeon Han ◽  
Sei Kwang Hahn

Abstract Background Wilson disease (WD) is a genetic disorder of copper storage, resulting in pathological accumulation of copper in the body. Because symptoms are generally related to the liver, chelating agents capable of capturing excess copper ions after targeted delivery to the liver are highly required for the treatment of WD. Methods We developed hyaluronate-diaminohexane/black phosphorus (HA-DAH/BP) complexes for capturing copper ions accumulated in the liver for the treatment of WD. Results HA-DAH/BP complexes showed high hepatocyte-specific targeting efficiency, selective copper capturing capacity, excellent biocompatibility, and biodegradability. HA enhanced the stability of BP nanosheets and increased copper binding capacity. In vitro cellular uptake and competitive binding tests verified targeted delivery of HA-DAH/BP complexes to liver cells via HA receptor mediated endocytosis. The cell viability test confirmed the high biocompatibility of HA-DAH/BP complexes. Conclusion HA-DAH/BP complexes would be an efficient copper chelating agent to remove accumulated copper in the liver for the WD treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 247-248
Author(s):  
M Flanagan ◽  
R Little ◽  
I Siddiqui ◽  
N Jones ◽  
V Ng

Abstract Background The chronic phenotype of ALF includes a broad differential diagnosis. Class III multi-drug resistance P-glycoprotein 3 (MDR3) deficiency, also referred to as progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 3, is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder. It is caused by a defect on the ABCB4 gene located on chromosome 7, which encodes MDR3. MDR3 is responsible for transporting phosphatidylcholine across the canalicular membrane, thereby allowing it to be incorporated into bile micelles. MDR3 deficiency results in increased levels of free bile acids and detergent bile. Progressive cholangiopathy ensues from this detergent bile and indirectly leads to cholestasis and liver failure in severe cases. Significantly increased urinary and hepatic copper (Cu), which are hallmarks of Wilson disease, have also been reported in patients with acute hepatitis and cholestasis including patients with MDR3 deficiency Aims We report a case of a girl who presented with a chronic phenotype of PALF, who had multiple features of Wilson disease and so was treated as such until genetic analysis confirmed MDR3 deficiency Methods Results A 6 year old girl presented to the ED with a 1mth history of epistaxis and a 1wk history of abdominal pain and distension, facial edema, pallor and fever. Her family history was significant for parental consanguinity and maternal itch during pregnancy. On examination she had clubbing, scleral icterus and a distended abdomen with hepatosplenomegaly. Her bloodwork showed bicytopenia (HGB 53 & Plts 63) along with liver dysfunction (INR 2.9, albumin 25, conjugated bilirubin 9) and raised liver enzymes (transaminases & GGT >10xULN). Her total serum bile acids were raised at 134. An US showed hepatosplenomegaly with multiple hyperechoic nodules and perisplenic varices. She was extensively worked up for malignancy, autoimmune and metabolic disease. Serum ceruloplasmin was reduced, ophthalmology examination showed no KF rings and her 24hr urinary Cu was 10xULN. Liver Cu quantification was markedly raised at 40xULN. Liver biopsy showed cirrhosis with fibrosis related minimal non-specific portal and septal inflammation. Additionally, complete loss of canalicular staining on immunohistochemistry for MDR3 protein was noted, suggestive of MDR3 deficiency. Based on the Cu levels, a provisional diagnosis of Wilson disease was made and Cu chelation therapy was commenced pending genetic testing. A cholestatic gene panel subsequently showed homozygous pathogenic variant for the ABCB4 gene. Trientine was stopped and she was commenced on ursodeoxycholic acid. Though biochemically she remains largely unchanged, she is clinically stable whilst awaiting a liver transplant Conclusions This case highlights the diagnostic difficulties associated with Cu test result interpretation in patients with chronic cholestatic liver disease and urges a thorough consideration of alternative diagnoses of PALF Funding Agencies None


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. e240288
Author(s):  
Gabriela F Santos ◽  
Paul Ellis ◽  
Daniela Farrugia ◽  
Alice M Turner

We report a 64-year-old caucasian woman diagnosed with membranous nephropathy secondary to alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). AATD is a rare autosomal codominant genetic disorder. Its clinical manifestations are mostly observed in the lungs, with early-onset emphysema. Nephropathy due to AATD is still very rare and only a few cohort studies have been reported. It has been recognised that alpha-1 antitrypsin has a protective role in the kidneys which enhances the possibility of development of kidney failure, such as nephrotic syndrome, in cases of AATD. Further clinical investigation is needed to understand the relationship between the development of nephropathy, namely membranous nephropathy, and AATD.


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