The identification of acylcarnitines by desorption chemical ionization mass spectrometry.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M Duran.
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Five patients aged 7 to 21 months are described who developed attacks of coma after a short prodromal illness with diarrhea or vomiting or both. Four had concomitant hypoglycemia, and all had hypoketonemia, with excessive urinary excretion of medium-chain dicarboxylic acids, medium-chain (omega-1)-hydroxyacids, suberylglycine, hexanoylglycine, and octanoylcarnitine. All patients accumulated octanoic acid, decanoic acid, and cis-4-decenoic acid in plasma. Fibroblasts from three patients showed a decreased rate of octanoate oxidation (10%, 12%, and 29% of control values, respectively). These findings suggest a deficiency of medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, most probably an autosomal recessive inherited metabolic disorder. Two of the patients died during an acute attack, and a third had severe neurologic sequelae; the two remaining patients recovered. Plasma free carnitine levels were low, but total carnitine was normal. The three surviving patients underwent a fasting test, which did not lead to hypoglycemia, although hypoketonemia, dicarboxylic aciduria, and excessive mobilization of fatty acids did occur. The surviving patients were maintained on frequent carbohydrate-enriched meals.
There are many causes of lens dislocation in man. Amongst these are two inborn errors of sulfur amino acid metabolism, viz., homocystinuria and sulfite oxidase deficiency. To date nine patients have been found in whom a combined deficiency of sulfite oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase was observed. This inherited disease is due to a defective synthesis of molybdenum cofactor, an essential component for the assembly of both enzymes. The main clinical symptoms of these patients were: facial dysmorphic features, severe feeding difficulties, mental retardation, abnormal muscle tone, severe seizures and myoclonia. Four out of nine patients had dislocated eye lenses. The main biochemical findings included hypouricemia, xanthinuria, an increased excretion of sulfite, thiosulfate, S-sulfocysteine, taurine and a decreased excretion of inorganic sulfate. The prognosis of the disease is poor; various attempts at treatment were not successful so far. Prenatal diagnosis by assay of sulfite oxidase in cultured amniotic fluid cells and by direct measurement of amniotic fluid S-sulfocysteine is possible.
Three unrelated patients with excessive thymine-uraciluria due to dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase deficiency are described. Excretory values (mmol/g creatinine) were: uracil 2.0-10.5, thymine 2.3-7.5, 5-hydroxymethyluracil 0.2-0.9. Orally administered (index patient) uracil and thymine were excreted for the greater part whilst dihydrouracil and S-dihydrothymine were mainly metabolised. Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase activities (nmol X h-1 X mg-1 protein) in leucocytes were 0.04, 0.01 and less than 0.01 in the patients, 0.31-1.66 in their parents, and 1.01-4.46 in controls (n = 4). The patients presented with a non-specific clinical picture of cerebral dysfunction.
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A patient is described who was admitted with a condition similar to the Reye syndrome at the age of 9 months. Hypoglycemia, hyperammonemia, hepatomegaly, and lethargy were present. The plasma concentrations of free and acylcarnitine were extremely low and the urine contained excessive amounts of dicarboxylic acids. Extensive biochemical and histological investigations of biopsied liver and muscle led to the diagnosis of systemic carnitine deficiency. The patient was put on oral carnitine treatment, upon which he remained clinically well. A prolonged fasting test during this treatment gave abnormal results: there was no ketonemia, but an increase of omega-oxidation of fatty acids. In spite of the treatment the liver and muscle carnitine content remained below normal.
A method for the measurement of dicarboxylic acids in amniotic fluid was developed that utilizes isolation of the acids by liquid partition chromatography and quantification by ammonia chemical ionization selected ion monitoring, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The concentrations of dicarboxylic acids in ten normal samples of amniotic fluid (mumol/l +/- 1 S.D.) were glutaric acid 0.91 +/- 0.15, adipic acid 0.33 +/- 0.08, suberic acid 0.27 +/- 0.08, and sebacic acid 0.21 +/- 0.10. A highly elevated concentration of 14.48 mumol/l glutaric acid was found in the amniotic fluid of a pregnancy in which the fetus was affected with glutaric aciduria type II. Adipic, suberic and sebacic acids were also significantly elevated. The dicarboxylic acids were normal in the amniotic fluid of a pregnancy at risk for glutaric aciduria type II in which the fetus was unaffected. This method is suitable for the rapid prenatal diagnosis of glutaric aciduria types I and II and of potential value for the prenatal diagnosis of other inherited disorders in which dicarboxylic acids accumulate.
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Various types of dicarboxylic aciduria are known, most of them are accompanied by non-ketotic hypoglycaemia. For the differential diagnosis of these conditions several methods of investigation have been used: (1) analysis of urinary organic acids in both native and hydrolysed samples, (2) analysis of free and esterified carnitine, the latter by means of chromatographic separation and identification of acyl moieties, (3) analysis of plasma organic acids, including the so-called free fatty acids, (4) a prolonged fasting test with serial measurements of the aforementioned parameters and close monitoring of the blood glucose and (5) an oral loading test with medium chain triglycerides accompanied by the same measurements as those named in item (4). So far differentiation has been made between patients with a metabolite profile most probably characteristic of medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency and other dicarboxylic acidurias, among the latter systemic carnitine deficiency. Patients belonging to the first group accumulate octanoate, decanoate and cis-4-decenoate in their plasma; they excrete hexanoylglycine, octanoylcarnitine and suberylglycine in addition to the usual C6-C10 dicarboxylic acids. There was a high prevalence of an increased plasma free fatty acid/3-hydroxybutyrate ratio.
Methylmalonic aciduria and Hartnup disorder are two rare autosomal recessively inherited metabolic disorders. We have described the coexistence of these disorders within the same pedigree in two unrelated families. This association was not found in 57 other families surveyed because of a proband known to have either methylmalonic aciduria or Hartnup disorder.
3-Methyladipic, 4-methylpimelic, 4-methylsuberic, pimelic, and azeleic acids were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the amniotic fluid of fetuses with propionic acidemia. These compounds were virtually undetectable in normal amniotic fluid. Concentrations much higher than those of the amniotic fluid were found in the urine of neonatal infants with propionic acidemia and methylmalonic acidemia. It appears that the accumulation of these compounds is a consequence of the accumulation of propionyl-CoA. Evidence was obtained for the presence of other methyl-branched chain dicarboxylic acids. 4-Methylpimelic acid and 4-methylsuberic acid have not previously been identified in human physiological fluids.
The differentiation of normal human peripheral blood B lymphocytes into plasma cells in vitro, studied in mononuclear cells stimulated with PWM or in purified B cells stimulated with a T cell-replacing factor (TRF), can be inhibited by both deoxyguanosine (dGuo) and guanosine. The mechanism underlying this effect, which differs from the in vivo findings in PNP deficiency, was analyzed. dGuo toxicity can be antagonized by hypoxanthine but not by deoxycytidine. PNP-deficient and HGPRT-deficient B lymphocytes are not sensitive to the intoxicating properties of (deoxy)guanosine. Inhibition of PNP activity in normal B lymphocytes by 8-aminoguanosine decreases the sensitivity for dGuo intoxication. Incubation of purified B cells (stimulated with TRF) with dGuo leads to increased intracellular levels of guanosine di- and triphosphate (GDP and GTP), whereas deoxyguanosine triphosphate (dGTP) levels remain low. These observations lead to the conclusion that inhibition of B lymphocyte differentiation by dGuo is brought about by one of the end products of the pathway starting with degradation of dGuo by PNP, followed by guanine salvage by HGPRT, and possibly further phosphorylation of GMP into GDP and GTP. According to this mechanism, B lymphocyte differentiation in PNP deficiency is not sensitive to (deoxy)guanosine; because of the absence of PNP activity, these cells cannot accumulate GMP, GDP, and GTP, and therefore escape dGuo intoxication.
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Isovaleryl-beta-D-glucuronide, a new metabolite in the urine of patients with isovaleric acidemia, is described. Its gas chromatographic and mass spectrometric parameters are presented. In alkaline solution this glucuronide exhibited intramolecular rearrangements, resulting in isomers bearing the acyl moiety on C-2, C-3 and C-4. The isomers showed similar mass spectra but different positions on the gas chromatogram. In the index patient isovalerylglucuronide was a main metabolite, but the excretion was a transient phenomenon. Only traces of isovalerylglucuronide could also be detected in the urine of three other patients with isovaleric acidemia. The significance of this metabolite for the detoxication of isovalerate in isovaleric acidemia is discussed.
Three children with branched-chain ketoaciduria (maple syrup urine disease) were found to excrete an abnormal amino acid when they were on an artificial diet. This substance was identified as 4-amino-2-(S-cysteinyl)butyric acid with the use of column liquid chromatography, gas chromatography--mass spectrometry of various derivatives, and 360 MHz 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The same compound was detected in urine samples from subjects undergoing an oral loading test with L-proline. The chromatographic analysis of commercial proline from two sources indicated that one of the batches was contaminated (less than 1%) with L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid (the homologue of proline with a four-membered ring). The latter compound is probably metabolized by the human via ring-opening and addition of a cysteine moiety. It is highly probable that the artificial diet given to the patients contained the impure proline and that the L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid in the proline gave rise to the excretion of the 4-amino-2-(S-cysteinyl)butyric acid.
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