Biomarkers of oxidative stress, inflammation, and vascular dysfunction in inherited cystathionine ß-synthase deficient homocystinuria and the impact of taurine treatment in a phase 1/2 human clinical trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: A phase 1/2 clinical trial was performed in individuals with cystathionine ß synthase (CBS) deficient homocystinuria with aims to: (a) assess pharmacokinetics and safety of taurine therapy, (b) evaluate oxidative stress, inflammation, and vascular function in CBS deficiency, and (c) evaluate the impact of short-term taurine treatment. METHODS: Individuals with pyridoxine-nonresponsive CBS deficiency with homocysteine >50 µM, without inflammatory disorder or on antioxidant therapy were enrolled. Biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation, endothelial function (brachial artery flow-mediated dilation [FMD]), and disease-related metabolites obtained at baseline were compared to normal values. While maintaining current treatment, patients were treated with 75 mg/kg taurine twice daily, and treatment response assessed after 4 hours and 4 days. RESULTS: Fourteen patients (8-35 years; 8 males, 6 females) were enrolled with baseline homocysteine levels 161 ± 67 µM. The study found high-dose taurine to be safe when excluding preexisting hypertriglyceridemia. Taurine pharmacokinetics showed a rapid peak level returning to near normal levels at 12 hours, but had slow accumulation and elevated predosing levels after 4 days of treatment. Only a single parameter of oxidative stress, 2,3-dinor-8-isoprostaglandin-F2α, was elevated at baseline, with no elevated inflammatory parameters, and no change in FMD values overall. Taurine had no effect on any of these parameters. However, the effect of taurine was strongly related to pretreatment FMD values; and taurine significantly improved FMD in the subset of individuals with pretreatment FMD values <10% and in individuals with homocysteine levels >125 µM, pertinent to endothelial function. CONCLUSION: Taurine improves endothelial function in CBS-deficient homocystinuria in patients with preexisting reduced function.

Potential Misdiagnosis of Hyperhomocysteinemia due to Cystathionine Beta-Synthase Deficiency During Pregnancy.

Extreme hyperhomocysteinemia with low cystathionine and cysteine is virtually diagnostic of cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) deficiency since remethylation defects and hypermethioninemia due to other inborn errors cause elevated serum cystathionine. However, a pregnant CBS deficient patient was found to have elevated cystathionine in addition to elevated total homocysteine and methionine at 23 weeks of gestation and post-delivery cystathionine decreased to the lower level of normal. A second patient with cystathionine values during gestation also showed a rise from the low pre-pregnant value to massive elevation by delivery. Her infant had severe hyperhomocysteinemia in cord blood with a massive elevation of cystathionine, S-adenosylmethionine, and S-adenosylhomocysteine. The infant corrected her homocysteine value by 2 months and is not affected. This data demonstrates that the fetus when exposed to high homocysteine and methionine has increased synthesis of cystathionine which cannot be cleared because the fetus lacks cystathionine gamma-lyase, and thus cystathionine is returned to the mother's circulation. This situation could lead to a misdiagnosis of the cause of hyperhomocysteinemia in a previously undiagnosed pregnant CBS deficient patient. Assays combining homocysteine with cystathionine measurements are commonly available from commercial laboratories in the USA. The recognition of CBS deficiency vs. remethylation disorders is important in order to maximize treatment. The cord blood values revealed a major disturbance in methionine metabolism including a potential for impaired transmethylation reactions in the fetus due to the buildup of S-adenosylhomocysteine. It is possible that monitoring maternal cystathionine during gestation could provide another measure of fetal exposure to homocysteine.

Low bone mineral density is a common finding in patients with homocystinuria.

Homocystinuria (HCU) due to deficiency of cystathionine beta-synthetase is associated with increased plasma levels of homocysteine and methionine and is characterized by developmental delay, intellectual impairment, ocular defects, thromboembolism and skeletal abnormalities. HCU has been associated with increased risk for osteoporosis in some studies, but the natural history of HCU-related bone disease is poorly understood. The objective of this study was to characterize bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in a multi-center, retrospective cohort of children and adults with HCU. We identified 19 subjects (9 males) aged 3.5 to 49.2 years who had DXA scans performed as a part of routine clinical care from 2002-2010. The mean lumbar spine (LS) BMD Z-score at the time of first DXA scan in this cohort was -1.2 (± SD of 1.3); 38% of participants had low BMD for age (as defined by a Z-score ≤-2). Homocysteine and methionine were positively associated with LS BMD Z-score in multiple linear regression models. Our findings suggest that low BMD is common in both children and adults with HCU and that routine assessment of bone health in this patient population is warranted. Future studies are needed to clarify the relationship between HCU and BMD.

Mudd's disease (MAT I/III deficiency): a survey of data for MAT1A homozygotes and compound heterozygotes.

BACKGROUND: This paper summarizes the results of a group effort to bring together the worldwide available data on patients who are either homozygotes or compound heterozygotes for mutations in MAT1A. MAT1A encodes the subunit that forms two methionine adenosyltransferase isoenzymes, tetrameric MAT I and dimeric MAT III, that catalyze the conversion of methionine and ATP to S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet). Subnormal MAT I/III activity leads to hypermethioninemia. Individuals, with hypermethioninemia due to one of the MAT1A mutations that in heterozygotes cause relatively mild and clinically benign hypermethioninemia are currently often being flagged in screening programs measuring methionine elevation to identify newborns with defective cystathionine ß-synthase activity. Homozygotes or compound heterozygotes for MAT1A mutations are less frequent. Some but not all, such individuals have manifested demyelination or other CNS abnormalities. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The goals of the present effort have been to determine the frequency of such abnormalities, to find how best to predict whether they will occur, and to evaluate the outcomes of the variety of treatment regimens that have been used. Data have been gathered for 64 patients, of whom 32 have some evidence of CNS abnormalities (based mainly on MRI findings), and 32 do not have such evidence. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The results show that mean plasma methionine concentrations provide the best indication of the group into which a given patient will fall: those with means of 800 µM or higher usually have evidence of CNS abnormalities, whereas those with lower means usually do not. Data are reported for individual patients for MAT1A genotypes, plasma methionine, total homocysteine (tHcy), and AdoMet concentrations, liver function studies, results of 15 pregnancies, and the outcomes of dietary methionine restriction and/or AdoMet supplementation. Possible pathophysiological mechanisms that might contribute to CNS damage are discussed, and tentative suggestions are put forth as to optimal management.

Impact of geographic access to care on compliance and metabolic control in phenylketonuria.

OBJECTIVE: To study the impact of geographic access to care on metabolic control and compliance in phenylketonuria (PKU). STUDY DESIGN: Phenylalanine (Phe) levels and number of samples obtained were abstracted from a data base of 76 patients age <21 years and compared for age, sex, and distance to clinic. Levels and number of samples were compared to the clinic guidelines for age. RESULTS: There was a strong positive correlation between age and Phe levels in adolescents and young adults while age and number of samples submitted were negatively correlated. There was not a significant correlation between Phe levels and distance to clinic, nor was there a significant difference in the Phe levels by distant categories (Denver metro, Front Range, distant area). However, there was a decrease in number of samples sent compared to clinic guidelines by distance, with patients residing in distant areas (>100 miles) sending significantly less samples. CONCLUSION: Geographic access to care does not impact control of Phe levels, but it does affect the number of monitoring samples sent to the clinic. Age groups of adolescents and young adults have a strong impact on both control of Phe levels and number of monitoring samples compared to clinic guidelines.

Constitutive induction of pro-inflammatory and chemotactic cytokines in cystathionine beta-synthase deficient homocystinuria.

Cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) deficient homocystinuria (HCU) is an inherited metabolic defect that if untreated, typically results in cognitive impairment, connective tissue disturbances, atherosclerosis and thromboembolic disease. In recent years, chronic inappropriate expression of the inflammatory response has emerged as a major driving force of both thrombosis and atherosclerotic lesion development. We report here a characterization of the abnormalities in cytokine expression induced in both a mouse model of HCU and human subjects with the disease in the presence and absence of homocysteine lowering therapy. HCU mice exhibited highly significant induction of the pro-inflammatory cytokines Il-1alpha, Il-1beta and TNF-alpha. Similarly, in untreated/poorly compliant human subjects with HCU we observed constitutive induction of multiple pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1alpha, IL-6, TNF-alpha, Il-17 and IL-12(p70)) and chemotactic chemokines (fractalkine, MIP-1alpha and MIP-1beta) compared to normal controls. These HCU patients also exhibited significant induction of IL-9, TGF-alpha and G-CSF. The expression levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines were unaffected in both HCU mice and human subjects with the disease. In the human subjects, homocysteine lowering therapy was associated with either normalization or significant reduction of all of the pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines investigated. We conclude that HCU is a disease of chronic inflammation and that aberrant cytokine expression has the potential to contribute to multiple aspects of pathogenesis. Our findings indicate that anti-inflammatory strategies could serve as a useful adjuvant therapy for this disease.

Management of a patient with holocarboxylase synthetase deficiency.

We investigated in a patient with holocarboxylase synthetase deficiency, the relation between the biochemical and genetic factors of the mutant protein with the pharmacokinetic factors of successful biotin treatment. A girl exhibited abnormal skin at birth, and developed in the first days of life neonatal respiratory distress syndrome and metabolic abnormalities diagnostic of multiple carboxylase deficiency. Enzyme assays showed low carboxylase activities. Fibroblast analysis showed poor incorporation of biotin into the carboxylases, and low transfer of biotin by the holocarboxylase synthetase enzyme. Kinetic studies identified an increased Km but a preserved Vmax. Mutation analysis showed the child to be a compound heterozygote for a new nonsense mutation Q379X and for a novel missense mutation Y663H. This mutation affects a conserved amino acid, which is located the most 3' of all recorded missense mutations thus far described, and extends the region of functional biotin interaction. Treatment with biotin 100mg/day gradually improved the biochemical abnormalities in blood and in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), corrected the carboxylase enzyme activities, and provided clinical stability and a normal neurodevelopmental outcome. Plasma concentrations of biotin were increased to more than 500 nM, thus exceeding the increased Km of the mutant enzyme. At these pharmacological concentrations, the CSF biotin concentration was half the concentration in blood. Measuring these pharmacokinetic variables can aid in optimizing treatment, as individual tailoring of dosing to the needs of the mutation may be required.

Infantile cardiomyopathy caused by the T14709C mutation in the mitochondrial tRNA glutamic acid gene.

A 6-week-old child presented with hypotonia, myopathy, and a rapidly worsening dilated cardiomyopathy with severe atrial and ventricular arrhythmias and pulmonary hypertension, which proved fatal at age 3 months. Biochemical analysis showed a combined deficiency of the enzymatic activities of complexes I and IV and molecular studies identified a T14709C mutation in the mitochondrial tRNA glutamic acid gene. A review of symptomatology in patients with this mutation shows that it mainly presents in childhood or young adults with mild myopathy and diabetes mellitus. Infants with a high, nearly homoplasmic mutant load can present with more severe symptoms including cardiomyopathy. Families with this mitochondrial DNA mutation should be aware that increased mutant load in a subsequent generation may result in severe and often fatal cardiac symptoms.