The mitochondrial respiratory chain consists of five multi-subunit protein complexes that produce the majority of energy driving cellular reactions. Dysfunction of the respiratory chain leads to decreased energy production and to an increase in the production of toxic reactive oxygen species. In addition, damaged mitochondria release apoptotic factors, which act as signals to induce cell death. Respiratory chain proteins are formed by the concerted action of both nuclear and mitochondrial genes. Therefore, mitochondrial disorders may be inherited in either a Mendelian (autosomal recessive, autosomal dominant, or X-linked) or maternal (mitochondrial) fashion, because mutations may occur in either the nuclear or mitochondrial genome.
The signs and symptoms of mitochondrial disorders are dependent on the severity of the mutation, the percentage of dysfunctional mitochondria, and the energy requirements of the affected tissues. Patients with mitochondrial disorders may present with a bewildering array of symptoms, because any tissue in the body may be affected at any point in an individual’s lifetime. However, prominent involvement of the nervous and muscular systems is common because these tissues are highly dependent on mitochondrial metabolism. Patients often have biochemical markers of underlying disease (for example, an elevated blood lactate level or unusual organic acids in the urine), but some patients have completely normal metabolic screens. Often the diagnosis of mitochondrial disorders requires demonstration of respiratory chain dysfunction by the measurement of complex activities in muscle tissue obtained from a biopsy. So-called muscle ragged red fibres may be seen on microscopic examination and are suggestive of mitochondrial disease, but often are not present and may be seen in other muscle disorders. Sometimes a diagnosis can be made by identifying an mtDNA mutation through molecular diagnostic techniques. However, not all mutations are known, and it is impractical to perform a complete analysis of an individual’s mtDNA. Furthermore, because some mitochondrial disorders may be caused by mutations present in the nuclear DNA, screening of nuclear genes that code for mitochondrial respiratory gene subunits ultimately may be necessary to pinpoint the underlying cause of a patient’s symptoms; however, such an exhaustive search is not practical.
Defective mitochondrial membrane ion transporters, transmembrane carrier proteins, and intramitochondrial metal homeostasis may also cause mitochondrial disorders. Neurodegenerative disorders including Friedreich ataxia and Wilson disease have been associated with aberrant mitochondrial metal metabolism; impaired iron homeostasis is present in Friedreich ataxia, while copper metabolism is abnormal in Wilson disease. The respiratory chain is affected secondarily in these conditions. Mitochondrial respiratory chain dysfunction also has been theorized to play a role in more common neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, Huntington disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig disease), as well as in normal aging. However, evidence of the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in these conditions and in normal aging is inconclusive. There is no proven therapy for patients with respiratory chain disorders, though various dietary supplements and cofactors have been tried, and experiments have begun in the area of gene therapy.
Lysosomal storage disorders
Lysosomes are cytoplasmic organelles in which a variety of macromolecules are degraded by different acid hydrolase enzymes. Lysosomal enzymes are coded for by nuclear DNA and are targeted to lysosomes by specific recognition markers. If a lysosomal enzyme is absent or has reduced activity or if enzymes are not correctly targeted to lysosomes, the macromolecules normally degraded by lysosomes will accumulate, causing abnormal storage of various complex compounds including glycolipids, glycosaminoglycans, oligosaccharides, and glycoproteins. Lysosomal storage disorders are autosomal recessive, except for Fabry disease and Hunter syndrome, which are X-linked. Abnormal macromolecule storage leads to a variety of signs and symptoms, depending on where the storage occurs. Some diseases (e.g., Gaucher disease type I) usually affect only peripheral tissues such as the liver, spleen, or bone, others affect only the central nervous system (e.g., Tay-Sachs disease), while yet others affect both brain and systemic organs (e.g., Niemann-Pick disease).
Characteristics of many lysosomal storage disorders include coarsening of facial features, eye abnormalities, enlarged liver and spleen, and bone disease. As a group, these conditions cause severe neurological impairment, often starting in infancy. However, each disease often has a spectrum of severity depending on the degree of enzymatic compromise. For example, although Tay-Sachs disease is often fatal in early childhood, some forms do not present until adulthood. Most lysosomal storage disorders have no therapy, except for supportive care. The difficulty with most therapies is that they do not enter the brain, because of the presence of the so-called blood-brain barrier. Bone marrow transplantation has been attempted in individuals with lysosomal storage disorders, but overall results have been disappointing. Successful therapy for disorders without central nervous system involvement has been accomplished; Gaucher disease type I, for example, is responsive to enzyme replacement therapy, that is, frequent intravenous infusions of the specific enzyme that is missing in the disorder, and encouraging results have been reported in Fabry disease and Pompe disease (GSD type II).
Peroxisomal disorders
Peroxisomes are cytoplasmic organelles that play a central role in the catabolism of very-long-chain fatty acids and other compounds through the process of beta-oxidation. They also are critical in the biosynthesis of important cellular membrane constituents (plasmalogens), cholesterol, and bile acids. Unlike mitochondria, peroxisomes do not contain DNA, therefore all of the components of their enzyme systems and membrane proteins are coded for by the nucleus. Most peroxisomal disorders exhibit autosomal recessive inheritance, with the exception of the X-linked form of adrenoleukodystrophy. They usually present with severe neurological compromise, but other organ systems—for example, bone and kidneys—may also be affected. No specific treatment exists for these disorders, and nearly all are lethal early in their course.
Some disorders feature a reduced number or complete absence of peroxisomes, which results in severely depressed activity of peroxisomal functions, affecting the functions of numerous enzymes. Such disorders include Zellweger (cerebrohepatorenal) syndrome, neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy, hyperpipecolic acidemia, and infantile Refsum disease. Patients may have severely decreased muscle tone (hypotonia), cerebral malformations, seizures, and an enlarged liver in infancy. Many develop eye abnormalities, in particular a defect in retinal pigment. Patients with Zellweger syndrome also may have small kidney cysts and cranial abnormalities.
In other disorders peroxisomes appear normal, with decreased activity of only a single enzyme. One example is X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD), an insidious disorder in which affected individuals show normal early development. Between the ages of 4 and 8, behaviour problems including hyperactivity, aggressiveness, or poor school performance appear in affected boys. Children often lose speech, memory skills, and the ability to walk, and seizures occur late in the course of the disease. The skin may have a brownish hue due to adrenal insufficiency. Other forms of X-ALD may not include neurological disease, or neurological complications may be mild (adrenomyeloneuropathy). Classic severe X-ALD and adrenomyeloneuropathy may coexist in the same family. Lorenzo’s oil (named after the patient who inspired its development), a mixture of trioleate and trierucate oils, improves or completely corrects the elevation of very-long-chain fatty acids in blood, but it does not have an effect on the neurological progression of the disease because it does not cross the blood-brain barrier. Some success has been reported in patients treated by bone marrow transplantation early in the course of disease.
Purine and pyrimidine disorders
Purines and pyrimidines are essential building blocks of DNA, RNA, and compounds involved in cellular energy transfer and biosynthetic reactions (e.g., adenosine triphosphate, ATP). Purine and pyrimidine disorders have a wide spectrum of signs and symptoms, including autism, kidney stones, susceptibility to infections, and severe intellectual disability. Symptoms may present from infancy to old age. Most metabolic screening tests do not detect disorders of purine or pyrimidine metabolism; hence, they must be specifically sought out by having specialized analyses performed.
Adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency results in the accumulation of 2′-deoxyadenosine in the circulating white blood cells (lymphocytes). This, in turn, causes a decreased number of lymphocytes and a drastically increased susceptibility to infection (severe combined immunodeficiency, SCID). Bone marrow transplantation may be curative, and gene therapy has shown promise, but enzyme replacement therapy is the standard treatment. Lesch-Nyhan syndrome is an X-linked condition caused by a deficiency in the enzyme hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase. The nervous system is affected, resulting in writhing movements in the first year of life, after a period of normal development. A particularly troublesome feature is the occurrence of self-mutilation. Intellectual disability is also common. Most individuals with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome excrete a large amount of uric acid in their urine, leading to gout, kidney stones, and possible kidney failure. A high fluid intake and the drug allopurinol are helpful in treating the joint and kidney problems, but have no effect on the severe intellectual disability. Physical restraint and extraction of the teeth are the only successful therapies for the self-injurious behaviour.