Sphingolipidoses of lysosomal storage disorders / 临床儿科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective Sphingolipidoses are a group of rare genetic disorders caused by catabolism defect of sphingolipids by lysosomal hydrolases with diverse presentations,and represent an important health problem to almost all ethnic populations. To date,there is no epidemiologic study on the prevalence of sphinglipidoses,individually,or as a group,in China. We set up a series of enzymatic assays that could make definite diagnoses with the aim to collect data for an epidemiologic investigation of sphingolipidoses and also pave the way to prenatal diagnosis to decrease the rate of inborn error of metabolism. Methods Patients with suspected sphingolipidosis were recruited from pediatric endocrinology and inherited metabolism outpatient clinics of Xinhua Hospital. Leukocytes were isolated with dextran from peripheral bloods. Activities of leukocyte acid β-glucosidase,acid sphingomyelinase,arylsulphatase A,galacto-cerebrosidase,beta-galactosidase were measured using their specific artificial fluorescent substrates,while arylsulfatase A was determined by a colorimetric assay with dipotassium 2-hydroxy-5-nitrophenyl sulfate as the substrate. Results In one year,we identified 17 patients with 5 different kinds of sphingolipidoses,including 3 patients with Gaucher disease,9 patients with Niemann-Pick type A/B,2 patients with metachromatic leukodystrophy,2 patients with Krabbe disease,and 1 patient with GM1 gangliosidosis. We made brief descriptions of disease characters of each different kind disease and compared our results with findings of other ethnic groups. Conclusions Sphinglipidoses was markedly under-diagnosed in China and general pediatricians should be alerted to sphinglipidoses.