Enzymatic evaluation of glutaric acidemia type 1 by an in vitro probe assay of acylcarnitine profiling using fibroblasts and electrospray ionization/tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS)

[Complex heterogeneity phenotypes and genotypes of glutaric aciduria type 1]

Glutaric aciduria type 1 is a rare autosomal recessive disorder. GCDH gene mutations cause glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency and accumulation of glutaric acid and 3-hydroxyglutaric acid, resulting in damage of striatum and other brain nucleus and neurodegeneration. Patients with glutaric aciduria type 1 present with complex heterogeneous phenotypes and genotypes. The symptoms are extremely variable. The ages of the clinical onset of the patients range from the fetus period to adulthood. The patients with mild glutaric aciduria type 1 are almost asymptomatic before onset, however, severe glutaric aciduria type 1 may cause death or disability due to acute encephalopathy. Acute metabolic crisis in patients with underlying glutaric aciduria type 1 is often triggered by febrile illnesses, trauma, hunger, high-protein foods and vaccination during a vulnerable period of brain development in infancy or early childhood. The early-onset patients usually have a poor prognosis. Urinary organic acids analysis, blood acylcarnitines analysis and GCDH study are important for the diagnosis of this disorder. Neonatal screening is essential for the early diagnosis and the improvement of prognosis.

Clinical and molecular investigation of 19 Japanese cases of glutaric acidemia type 1

Glutaric acidemia type 1 (GA1) is a metabolic disease caused by a deficiency of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH). Untreated patients mostly develop severe striatal degeneration. More than 200 mutations have been reported in the GCDH gene, and common R402W and IVS10-2A>C were found in Caucasian and Chinese/Taiwanese, respectively. However, in Japan, genetic mutations have only been reported in a few cases. Herein, we report the clinical and molecular basis of GA1 in 19 Japanese patients, including six previously reported patients. All cases showed high urinary glutaric acid excretion. Eleven patients were severely impaired (three patients died), three had mild impairment, and five showed normal development. Four of 5 patients that developed normally were detected in the presymptomatic stage by neonatal or sibling screening. Nineteen mutations in 26 alleles were identified, and eight of them (89 or 90delC, Y155C, IVS4+2T＞C, G244S, Q352X, G354A, K361E, and 1144-1145delGC) were novel. S305L (12.1%, 4/34 alleles) was found in several cases, suggesting that this mutation is a common mutation. In contrast, R402W was not identified and IVS10-2A>C was only found in one allele, suggesting that Japanese patients with GA1 show allelic heterogeneity and have a different genetic background to patients from other countries. One of a pair of sisters with the same mutations (M339V/S305L) lacking residual activity was severely retarded, whereas the older girl remains asymptomatic at 22 years of age, indicating that genotype does not necessarily predict GA1 phenotype. We consistently found that there was no association between genotype and phenotype. However, children with mild impairment were diagnosed and treated earlier than severely impaired cases {4.7±2.5 months (range: 2-8 months) vs. 11.6±12.7 months (range: 4-51 months)}. Our results suggest that early detection and treatment but not genotype are associated with better patient outcome, reinforcing the importance of neonatal screening.