Project description:Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD) is the most common type urea cycle enzyme deficiencies. This syndrome results from a deficiency of the mitochondrial enzyme ornithine transcarbamylase, which catalyzes the conversion of ornithine and carbamoyl phosphate to citrullin. Our case was a 28-year-old female diagnosed with OTCD following neurocognitive deficit during her first pregnancy. Although hyperammonemia was suspected as the cause of the patient's mental changes, there was no evidence of chronic liver disease. Plasma amino acid and urine organic acid analysis revealed OTCD. After combined modality treatment with arginine, sodium benzoate and hemodialysis, the patient's plasma ammonia level stabilized and her mental status returned to normal. At last she recovered without any damage left.
Project description:X-linked ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD) is the most common urea cycle defect. The disease severity ranges from asymptomatic carrier state to severe neonatal presentation with hyperammonaemic encephalopathy. We audited the diagnosis and management of OTCD, using an online 12-question-survey that was sent to 75 metabolic centres in Turkey, France and the UK. Thirty-nine centres responded and 495 patients were reported in total. A total of 208 French patients were reported, including 71 (34%) males, 86 (41%) symptomatic and 51 (25%) asymptomatic females. Eighty-five Turkish patients included 32 (38%) males, 39 (46%) symptomatic and 14 (16%) asymptomatic females. Out of the 202 UK patients, 66 (33%) were male, 83 (41%) asymptomatic and 53 (26%) symptomatic females. A total of 19%, 12% and 7% of the patients presented with a neonatal-onset phenotype in France, Turkey and the UK, respectively. Vomiting, altered mental status and encephalopathy were the most common initial symptoms in all three countries. While 69% in France and 79% in Turkey were receiving protein restriction, 42% were on a protein-restricted diet in the UK. A total of 76%, 47% and 33% of patients were treated with ammonia scavengers in Turkey, France and the UK, respectively. The findings of our audit emphasize the differences and similarities in manifestations and management practices in three countries.
Project description:Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD) is the most common urea cycle disorder with high unmet needs, as current dietary and medical treatments may not be sufficient to prevent hyperammonemic episodes, which can cause death or neurological sequelae. To date, liver transplantation is the only curative choice but is not widely available due to donor shortage, the need for life-long immunosuppression and technical challenges. A field of research that has shown a great deal of promise recently is gene therapy, and OTCD has been an essential candidate for different gene therapy modalities, including AAV gene addition, mRNA therapy and genome editing. This review will first summarise the main steps towards clinical translation, highlighting the benefits and challenges of each gene therapy approach, then focus on current clinical trials and finally outline future directions for the development of gene therapy for OTCD.
Project description:We describe a novel, two-nanoparticle mRNA delivery system and show that it is highly effective as a means of intracellular enzyme replacement therapy (i-ERT) using a murine model of ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD). Our Hybrid mRNA Technology delivery system (HMT) comprises an inert lipid nanoparticle that protects the mRNA from nucleases in the blood as it distributes to the liver and a polymer micelle that targets hepatocytes and triggers endosomal release of mRNA. This results in high-level synthesis of the desired protein specifically in the liver. HMT delivery of human OTC mRNA normalizes plasma ammonia and urinary orotic acid levels, and leads to a prolonged survival benefit in the murine OTCD model. HMT represents a unique, non-viral mRNA delivery method that allows multi-dose, systemic administration for treatment of single-gene inherited metabolic diseases.
Project description:BackgroundAcute liver failure (ALF) has been reported in ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD) and other urea cycle disorders (UCD). The frequency of ALF in OTCD is not well-defined and the pathogenesis is not known.AimTo evaluate the prevalence of ALF in OTCD, we analyzed the Swiss patient cohort. Laboratory data from 37 individuals, 27 females and 10 males, diagnosed between 12/1991 and 03/2015, were reviewed for evidence of ALF. In parallel, we performed cell culture studies using human primary hepatocytes from a single patient treated with ammonium chloride in order to investigate the inhibitory potential of ammonia on hepatic protein synthesis.ResultsMore than 50% of Swiss patients with OTCD had liver involvement with ALF at least once in the course of disease. Elevated levels of ammonia often correlated with (laboratory) coagulopathy as reflected by increased values for international normalized ratio (INR) and low levels of hepatic coagulation factors which did not respond to vitamin K. In contrast, liver transaminases remained normal in several cases despite massive hyperammonemia and liver involvement as assessed by pathological INR values. In our in vitro studies, treatment of human primary hepatocytes with ammonium chloride for 48 hours resulted in a reduction of albumin synthesis and secretion by approximately 40%.ConclusionIn conclusion, ALF is a common complication of OTCD, which may not always lead to severe symptoms and may therefore be underdiagnosed. Cell culture experiments suggest an ammonia-induced inhibition of hepatic protein synthesis, thus providing a possible pathophysiological explanation for hyperammonemia-associated ALF.
Project description:Ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency is an X-linked urea cycle defect. While hemizygous males typically present with hyperammonemic coma in infancy, reports of rare late-onset presentations exist, with poor outcomes in males up to 58 years old. Relatives with mutations identical to affected patients often remain asymptomatic, and it is likely that environmental and genetic factors influence disease penetrance and expression. Here, we present our investigation of a patient with late-onset presentation, and we emphasize the potential role of environmental and genetic factors on disease expression. The patient was a previously healthy 62-year-old man who developed mental slowing, refractory seizures, and coma over an 8-day period. Interestingly, the patient had recently used home gardening fertilizers and pesticides. Evaluations for drug and alcohol use, infections, and liver disease were negative. Despite aggressive therapy, blood NH(3) concentration peaked at 2,050 muM and the patient died from cerebral edema and cerebellar herniation. Analysis of the OTC gene showed a Pro-225-Thr (P225T) change in exon 7, a mutation that has been previously implicated in OTC deficiency. This case illustrates that OTC deficiency can cause acute, severe hyperammonemia in a previously healthy adult and that the P225T mutation can be associated with late-onset OTC deficiency. We speculate that exposure to organic chemicals might have contributed to the onset of symptoms in this patient. This case also emphasizes that persistent hyperammonemia may cause irreversible neurologic damage and that after the diagnosis of hyperammonemia is established in an acutely ill patient, certain diagnostic tests should be performed to differentiate between urea cycle disorders and other causes of hyperammonemic encephalopathy.
Project description:Late onset ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (McKusick 311250) is reported in four Finnish patients, two boys and two heterozygous girls. The subtle onset and course of ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency emphasises the need for plasma ammonia and amino acid measurements in clinical situations suggesting a disorder of this nature.
Project description:BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to perform gene detection in 2 clinical cases of highly suspected ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD) pediatric patients by first-generation sequencing technology in order to confirm the pathogenic genetic factors of their families and allow the families to undergo genetic counselling and prenatal diagnosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS The peripheral DNA samples of 2 children with highly suspected OTCD (the probands) and their parents were collected. DNA fragments corresponding to exons 1-10 of the OTC gene from the samples were amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and then subjected to Sanger sequencing to confirm the pathogenic mutation sites. RESULTS The probands were both confirmed to have OTCD. The proband in Family 1 was a male carrying a c.867+1G>C mutation at a splice site within the OTC gene. The gene detection results of amniotic fluid cells at 16 weeks of pregnancy showed that the fetus was a male who also carried the c.867+1G>C mutation. The proband in Family 2 was a male carrying a c.782T>C(p. I261T) mutation in the OTC gene. The gene detection results of amniotic fluid cells at 18 weeks showed that the fetus was a male without pathogenic mutations in the OTC gene. The gene detection results of peripheral blood from the fetus after birth were consistent with those obtained from amniotic fluid cells. CONCLUSIONS Pediatric children who are clinically suspected of OTCD can receive a definitive diagnosis through OTC gene detection.
Project description:Urea cycle disorders (UCDs) are a group of rare inherited metabolic conditions caused by enzyme deficiency within the hepatic ammonia detoxification pathway. Ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency, the most frequently occurring UCD, is an X-linked condition known to yield a vastly heterogeneous phenotype, with variable onset and presentation across the lifespan. Here, we introduce a series of 4 original cases, published as part of this special supplement, that illustrate learnings for the care of heterozygous females with OTC deficiency, including challenges with diagnosis, potential triggers of hyperammonemia, cognitive effects, and approaches to disease management, including peripartum care.
Project description:Ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency is an X-linked trait that accounts for nearly half of all inherited disorders of the urea cycle. OTC is one of the enzymes common to both the urea cycle and the bacterial arginine biosynthesis pathway; however, the role of OTC has changed over evolution. For animals with a urea cycle, defects in OTC can trigger hyperammonemic episodes that can lead to brain damage and death. This is the fifth mutation update for human OTC with previous updates reported in 1993, 1995, 2002, and 2006. In the 2006 update, 341 mutations were reported. This current update contains 417 disease-causing mutations, and also is the first report of this series to incorporate information about natural variation of the OTC gene in the general population through examination of publicly available genomic data and examination of phenotype/genotype correlations from patients participating in the Urea Cycle Disorders Consortium Longitudinal Study and the first to evaluate the suitability of systematic computational approaches to predict severity of disease associated with different types of OTC mutations.