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P Guldberg

Publications and source records attributed to P Guldberg.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

In vivo assessment of mutations in the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene by phenylalanine loading: characterization of seven common mutations.

UNLABELLED: Mutations in the gene encoding phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) cause persistent hyperphenylalaninaemia. To date, more than 200 point mutations and microdeletions have been characterized. Each mutation has a particular quantitative effect on enzyme activity and recessive expression of different mutant alleles results in a marked interindividual heterogeneity of metabolic and clinical phenotypes. In this paper we demonstrate how a simple clinical test can be used to evaluate the correlation between mutation genotype and phenylalanine metabolism. In hyperphenylalaninaemic patients with known PAH mutation genotype, we have investigated phenylalanine turnover in vivo by measuring the ability to eliminate a test dose of L-phenylalanine. All patients could be considered functionally hemizygous for one of their mutant alleles by carrying on the other allele a mutation that is known to completely abolish PAH activity and encode a peptide with no immunoreactivity. Seven mutations (R408W, IVS-12nt1, R261Q, G46S, Y414C, A104D, and D415N) were characterized by oral phenylalanine loading, each mutation being represented by at least three patients. The elimination profile determined for a 3-day period provides a measure to compare residual activity of the mutant proteins and to assign each mutation to a particular metabolic phenotype. The established relation between genotype and phenotype may enable prediction of the severity of the disease by genotype determination in the newborn period. This will aid in the management of hyperphenylalaninaemia and may improve prognosis. CONCLUSION: The possibility of predicting the residual enzyme activity by DNA analysis performed already in the newborn period allows the prompt implementation of a diet that is adjusted to the degree of PAH deficiency. This may improve management and prognosis of hyperphenylalaninaemia.

Alleles↗

Phenylketonuria in a low incidence population: molecular characterisation of mutations in Finland.

The incidence of phenylketonuria (PKU) in Finland is extremely low, probably below 1 in 100,000. We describe the mutations and haplotypes in all four presently known patients. Mutation R408W was found on four mutant chromosomes (all haplotype 2), and IVS7nt1, R261Q, and IVS2nt1 were each found on a single chromosome. No mutation was found on the remaining chromosome. These findings support a pronounced negative founder effect as the cause of the low incidence of PKU in Finland, and are consistent with existing data regarding the European and Baltic origin of Finnish genes.

Adolescent↗

Brain magnetic resonance imaging in children with optimally controlled hyperphenylalaninaemia.

This study was undertaken to investigate whether the white-matter changes on MRI and the EEG abnormalities detectable in treated adolescents and adults with hyperphenylalaninaemia (HPA) can be detected in younger children on an optimally controlled diet. The study included 17 children, 7-12 years of age, with HPA. The MRI of five healthy children were included in the blind evaluation of the MR images. According to mutation genotype and dietary tolerance of phenylalanine, 9 patients have severe HPA and 8 have moderate HPA, all requiring dietary treatment. Mild white-matter hyperintensity was detected in 1 of the 5 healthy children and in 10 of 17 patients. EEG was abnormal in 2 patients. This group of children was compared with a previously reported group of adolescents with HPA who had been treated according to the same dietary regimen. MRI changes and EEG abnormalities were significantly less frequent in the group of children than in the group of adolescents. It is suggested that the more frequent MRI changes and EEG abnormalities seen in adolescents are related to the fact that a relaxation of the dietary treatment after the age of 8 years is often accepted.

Adolescent↗

Mutation analysis in families with discordant phenotypes of phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency. Inheritance and expression of the hyperphenylalaninaemias.

Neonatal hyperphenylalaninaemia caused by mutations in the gene encoding phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) represents a wide spectrum of metabolic phenotypes, ranging from classical phenylketonuria (PKU) to mild hyperphenylalaninaemia (MHP). The marked interindividual heterogeneity is due to the expression of multiple PAH mutations in genetic compounds. We have investigated four unusual families in which both PKU and MHP were present. In each family three different mutations in the PAH gene were identified, including two associated with PKU and one associated with MHP. The unexpected outcome of discordant phenotypes within the families described is explained by previously unrecognized parental MHP. By mutation analysis we have also predicted the phenotypical outcome in a hyperphenylalaninaemic infant born to a mother who before pregnancy had been diagnosed as having MHP. Our results demonstrate the utility of nucleic acid analysis in follow-up in PKU screening programmes.

Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors↗

Detection of a single base deletion in codon 424 of the low density lipoprotein receptor gene in a Danish family with familial hypercholesterolemia.

We performed a screening of exon 9 of the low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene in 14 Danish families with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) using the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) technique. In one of the probands from these families an abnormal band pattern in the gradient gel was detected. Subsequent DGGE analysis of the family of this index patient revealed that the DGGE pattern cosegregated with the disease in this family. Sequencing of the exon showed a deletion of a C in codon 424 of the LDLR gene resulting in a frame shift with the introduction of a stop codon 5 codons further downstream. The mutation is referred to as FH-Odense. The predicted truncated receptor protein consists of the 428 amino terminal amino acids. Consequently, the cytosolic and membrane spanning parts of the mature LDL receptor, which normally secure the receptor in the plasma membrane, are missing. The FH-Odense mutation results in severe premature coronary atherosclerosis as shown by the clinical expression in 5 generations of the affected family.

Adolescent↗

Maternal mild hyperphenylalaninemia: results of treated and untreated pregnancies in two sisters.

The outcomes of mild hyperphenylalaninemia (MHP) in three children of two sisters were compared. The IQ of the child from an untreated pregnancy was 105; the developmental quotients of the two infant offspring from treated and untreated pregnancies were 122 and 114, respectively. The IQ of the sister with untreated MHP was 101; that of the sister who received dietary treatment for MHP during infancy was 90. Thus MHP and maternal MHP appear to have been clinically inconsequential in this family.

Adult↗

Mutations in the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene: methods for their characterization.

Mutations in the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene represent the root cause of PAH-deficient hyperphenylalaninemia. To date, more than 160 different mutations have been reported. Single-base substitutions and microdeletions account for the majority of molecular defects. This review provides a brief general introduction to various strategies for detection of PAH mutations, and summarizes our own methodological developments. We have established a method based on PCR in combination with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) for mutation scanning of the entire coding sequence and all exon/intron boundaries of the PAH. Systematic application of this method to the study of a large number of mutant chromosomes from hyperphenylalaninemic patients demonstrated a 98% diagnostic efficiency and a 100% mutation detection efficiency. We have created compromised PCR and DGGE conditions for simultaneous amplification and simultaneous mutation scanning of all PAH-coding fragments. This technique is convenient in a diagnostic setting and allows "same-day" DNA-based diagnosis of newborns with hyperphenylalaninemia. A further modification of the method allows unambiguous identification of known mutations, circumventing the cumbersome step of nucleotide sequencing.

DNA Mutational Analysis↗

Association between haplotypes, hind III-VNTR alleles and mutations at the PAH locus in Sicily.

In this study we report previously undescribed associations between mutations, haplotypes and a minisatellite polymorphism (Hind III VNTR) of the PAH gene in the Sicilian population. Analysis of the association between mutations and linked polymorphisms between Sicilians and other Mediterranean populations may be a useful tool to study the time-space origin of mutant PAH genes in Southern Europe.

Alleles↗

Mutations in the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene: genetic determinants for the phenotypic variability of hyperphenylalaninemia.

Phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) deficiency is a heterogeneous disease at the phenotype level. The spectrum of clinical and metabolic phenotypes spans from the potential pathogenic disease classical phenylketonuria (PKU) to the benign condition non-PKU hyperphenylalaninemia (non-PKU HPA). This review provides an introduction to the clinical variants of PAH deficiency, and summarizes our attempts to define the disease at the molecular level and to relate mutation genotype to clinical outcome. Complete genotype determination in a large number of patients with PAH-deficient hyperphenylalaninemia demonstrates that clinical heterogeneity can be explained by a multiplicity of mutations in the PAH gene. Some combinations of mutations are associated with phenylalanine levels fluctuating around the border between PKU and non-PKU HPA. However, certain mutations seem always to cause non-PKU HPA irrespective of the mutation on the second allele and can, therefore, unambiguously be designated as being associated with the non-PKU HPA phenotype. Our results suggest that mutation analysis in newborns presenting with hyperphenylalaninemia can be used for rapid and highly efficient differential diagnosis of PAH deficiency, and for predicting the severity of the disease. These possibilities may facilitate and optimize the management of hyperphenylalaninemia and thereby improve prognosis.

Denmark↗

Molecular analysis of phenylketonuria in Denmark: 99% of the mutations detected by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis.

We present the results of a comprehensive study on the molecular basis of phenylketonuria (PKU) in Denmark. A strategy relying on PCR in combination with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis for analyzing the coding sequence and splice site junctions of the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene allowed us to detect a molecular defect on 99% of 308 Danish PKU chromosomes. The mutational spectrum consists of 35 different mutations, including 23 missense mutations, 5 splice mutations, 4 nonsense mutations, and 3 deletions. Seventeen of these mutations have not been reported previously. The mutation detection assay presented in this report offers a simple and reliable methodological entity that can be applied to rapid diagnosis and carrier detection of phenylketonuria in any population, irrespective of the frequency and distribution of mutations.

Alleles↗