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Biomedical subjects

Peter T Clayton

Publications and source records attributed to Peter T Clayton.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Mitochondrial 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A synthase deficiency: From metabolism to clinical implications.

PURPOSE: Ketone bodies represent an important energy source and can contribute much to the energy supply of the brain. Mitochondrial 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A synthase deficiency (HMGCS2D) is an autosomal recessive disorder of ketogenesis caused by biallelic variants in HMGCS2. Only 59 patients with this disorder have been reported so far. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive literature search to identify all published cases of HMGCS2D (n = 59). Additionally, the data of 16 patients with this disorder who are yet undescribed were collected. Clinical course, biochemical findings, and mutation data are highlighted and discussed. An overview on all HMGCS2 variants reported in patients is provided. RESULTS: Sixty-eight patients (91%) presented with an acute metabolic decompensation, mostly within the first year of life but beyond the neonatal period. Asymptomatic individuals were identified in several families. Six patients (8%) had died, mainly during the initial metabolic crisis. The neurologic long-term outcome of surviving patients was favorable with almost all patients (98%) showing normal development. Only 1 variant was identified to be common, (HMGCS2) NM_005518.4:c.634G>A p.(Gly212Arg), and found in 6 families. No genotype-phenotype correlation can be established. CONCLUSION: This comprehensive data analysis provides an overview on all published patients reported with HMGCS2D, including a list of HMGCS2 variants identified in affected individuals.

Child↗

The underglycosylation of plasma alpha 1-antitrypsin in congenital disorders of glycosylation type I is not random.

Conditions under which the glycosylation capacity of cells is limited provide an opportunity for studying the efficiency of site-specific glycosylation and the role of glycosylation in the maturation of glycoproteins. Congenital disorders of glycosylation type 1 (CDG-I) provide such a system. CDG-I is characterized by underglycosylation of glycoproteins due to defects in the assembly or transfer of the common dolichol-pyrophosphate-linked oligosaccharide precursor of asparagine-linked glycans. Human plasma alpha1-antitrypsin is normally fully glycosylated at three asparagine residues (46, 83, and 247), but un-, mono-, di-, and fully glycosylated forms of alpha1-antitrypsin were detected by 2D PAGE in the plasma from patients with CDG-I. The state of glycosylation of the three asparagine residues was analyzed in all the underglycosylated forms of alpha1-antitrypsin by peptide mass fingerprinting using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. It was found that asparagine 46 was always glycosylated and that asparagine 83 was never glycosylated in the underglycosylated glycoforms of alpha1-antitrypsin. This showed that the asparagine residues are preferentially glycosylated in the order 46>247>83 in the mature underglycosylated forms of alpha1-antitrypsin found in plasma. It is concluded that the nonoccupancy of glycosylation sites is not random under conditions of decreased glycosylation capacity and that the efficiency of glycosylation site occupancy depends on structural features at each site. The implications of this observation for the intracellular transport and sorting of glycoproteins are discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Synthesis and analysis of conjugates of the major vitamin E metabolite, alpha-CEHC.

Glucuronide and sulphate conjugates of 2,5,7,8-tetramethyl-2-(2'-carboxyethyl)-6-hydroxychroman (alpha-CEHC), the major metabolite of alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E), have been synthesized and used for the first direct analysis of conjugated urinary vitamin E metabolites. The metabolites of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) could be useful as markers of the function(s) of vitamin E in vivo. A number of methods have been described for the analysis of urinary vitamin E metabolites but these have relied on either acid or enzymatic deconjugation of the metabolites prior to analysis by high performance liquid chromatography or gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. These methods have provided useful information about the amount and types of metabolites excreted in the urine but suffer from a number of disadvantages. Deconjugation has been shown to produce artifacts as a result of the conversion of alpha-CEHC to alpha-tocopheronolactone and the efficiency of deconjugation is also difficult to assess. Methods that allow the direct measurement of the conjugated metabolites would overcome these problems and would also substantially reduce the preparation and analysis time. Here we describe the use of conjugated standards to characterize alpha-CEHC conjugates in human urine by tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS). The future use of MS-MS to measure urinary vitamin E metabolites is also discussed.

Chromans↗

Optimisation of bile production during normothermic preservation of porcine livers.

Machine perfusion of livers may provide a mechanism for extended preservation of marginal donor organs before transplantation, as well as a method for viability assessment. It has proved possible in a series of experimental porcine liver perfusions to maintain liver viability for up to 72 h. However, a reduction in bile production with associated histological evidence of cholestasis was seen after 10 h of perfusion, damaging the biliary canaliculi during the preservation period and leaving these organs in an unacceptable condition for transplantation. It was proposed that reduction in bile production was the result of a relentless depletion of available bile salts, gut recirculation not being possible and de-novo synthesis being unable to keep up with loss. This was proved by measuring porcine native bile acids within serial perfusate and bile samples using gas chromatography mass spectrophotometry. It was shown that all three native pig bile acids were decreased to 30% of their original value by 20 h of unsupplemented perfusion. An infusion of taurocholate managed to maintain bile production at physiological levels throughout the 20-h period (8 mL/h +/- 0.75). It was successfully incorporated by the porcine livers into bile. We propose to use this circuit as a novel means of preserving donor livers for transplantation in which the organ is maintained at normal body temperature and perfused with blood. This will reduce ischaemia reperfusion injury and may enable prolonged preservation. The modification described ensures optimal bile production over the entire perfusion period, preventing inspissation and subsequent damage to the canaliculus.

Animals↗

Inborn errors presenting with liver dysfunction.

In neonates, inborn errors of metabolism can produce all the major signs of liver dysfunction - jaundice, coagulopathy, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, ascites and encephalopathy. The significance of encephalopathy in the neonate is different from that in older patients; it is usually due to a specific abnormality such as hypoglycaemia rather than being a non-specific indicator of liver failure. Attention is focused on five neonatal presentations: unconjugated hyperbilirubinaemia, cholestatic jaundice with otherwise good liver function, severe liver dysfunction (jaundice, coagulopathy persisting after vitamin K, and ascites), hepatomegaly with hypotonia+/- cardiomyopathy; and hepatosplenomegaly. The metabolic disorders presenting in these ways are listed alongside specific clinical features that can aid differential diagnosis and tests that can be used to confirm or refute the diagnosis. Diagnosis is important because treatment can be dramatically effective, e.g. withdrawal of galactose in galactosaemia. Even when treatment is not effective it is often possible to offer prenatal diagnosis for future pregnancies.

Diagnosis, Differential↗