Fructose bisphosphatase deficiency

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Fructose bisphosphatase deficiency
Beta-D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate wpmp.png
Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate
Specialty Endocrinology
Symptoms hypoglycemia
Frequencyvery rare

In fructose bisphosphatase deficiency, there is not enough fructose bisphosphatase for gluconeogenesis to occur correctly. Glycolysis (the breakdown of glucose) will still work, as it does not use this enzyme.

Contents

History

The first known description of a patient with this condition was published in 1970 in The Lancet journal. [1]

Early research into the disorder was conducted by a team led by Anthony S. Pagliara and Barbara Illingworth Brown at Washington University Medical Center, based on the case of an infant girl from Oak Ridge, Missouri. [2] [3]

Presentation

Without effective gluconeogenesis (GNG), hypoglycaemia will set in after about 12 hours of fasting. This is the time when liver glycogen stores have been exhausted, and the body has to rely on GNG. When given a dose of glucagon (which would normally increase blood glucose) nothing will happen, as stores are depleted and GNG doesn't work. (In fact, the patient would already have high glucagon levels.)

There is no problem with the metabolism of glucose or galactose, but fructose and glycerol cannot be used by the liver to maintain blood glucose levels. If fructose or glycerol are given, there will be a buildup of phosphorylated three-carbon sugars. This leads to phosphate depletion within the cells, and also in the blood. Without phosphate, ATP cannot be made, and many cell processes cannot occur.

High levels of glucagon will tend to release fatty acids from adipose tissue, and this will combine with glycerol that cannot be used in the liver, to make triacylglycerides causing a fatty liver.

As three carbon molecules cannot be used to make glucose, they will instead be made into pyruvate and lactate. These acids cause a drop in the pH of the blood (a metabolic acidosis). Acetyl CoA (acetyl co-enzyme A) will also build up, leading to the creation of ketone bodies.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is made by measurement of FDPase in cultured lymphocytes and confirmed by detection of mutation of FBP1, encoding FDPase. [4]

Treatment

To treat people with a deficiency of this enzyme, they must avoid needing gluconeogenesis to make glucose. This can be accomplished by not fasting for long periods, and eating high-carbohydrate food. They should avoid fructose containing foods (as well as sucrose which breaks down to fructose).

As with all single-gene metabolic disorders, there is always hope for genetic therapy, inserting a healthy copy of the gene into existing liver cells.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glycolysis</span> Catabolic pathway

Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose into pyruvate. The free energy released in this process is used to form the high-energy molecules adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). Glycolysis is a sequence of ten reactions catalyzed by enzymes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ketone bodies</span> Chemicals produced during fat metabolism

Ketone bodies are water-soluble molecules or compounds that contain the ketone groups produced from fatty acids by the liver (ketogenesis). Ketone bodies are readily transported into tissues outside the liver, where they are converted into acetyl-CoA —which then enters the citric acid cycle and is oxidized for energy. These liver-derived ketone groups include acetoacetic acid (acetoacetate), beta-hydroxybutyrate, and acetone, a spontaneous breakdown product of acetoacetate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ketosis</span> Using body fats as fuel, not carbohydrates

Ketosis is a metabolic state characterized by elevated levels of ketone bodies in the blood or urine. Physiological ketosis is a normal response to low glucose availability, such as low-carbohydrate diets or fasting, that provides an additional energy source for the brain in the form of ketones. In physiological ketosis, ketones in the blood are elevated above baseline levels, but the body's acid–base homeostasis is maintained. This contrasts with ketoacidosis, an uncontrolled production of ketones that occurs in pathologic states and causes a metabolic acidosis, which is a medical emergency. Ketoacidosis is most commonly the result of complete insulin deficiency in type 1 diabetes or late-stage type 2 diabetes. Ketone levels can be measured in blood, urine or breath and are generally between 0.5 and 3.0 millimolar (mM) in physiological ketosis, while ketoacidosis may cause blood concentrations greater than 10 mM.

Gluconeogenesis (GNG) is a metabolic pathway that results in the generation of glucose from certain non-carbohydrate carbon substrates. It is a ubiquitous process, present in plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and other microorganisms. In vertebrates, gluconeogenesis occurs mainly in the liver and, to a lesser extent, in the cortex of the kidneys. It is one of two primary mechanisms – the other being degradation of glycogen (glycogenolysis) – used by humans and many other animals to maintain blood sugar levels, avoiding low levels (hypoglycemia). In ruminants, because dietary carbohydrates tend to be metabolized by rumen organisms, gluconeogenesis occurs regardless of fasting, low-carbohydrate diets, exercise, etc. In many other animals, the process occurs during periods of fasting, starvation, low-carbohydrate diets, or intense exercise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ketogenesis</span> Chemical breakdown of ketone bodies

Ketogenesis is the biochemical process through which organisms produce ketone bodies by breaking down fatty acids and ketogenic amino acids. The process supplies energy to certain organs, particularly the brain, heart and skeletal muscle, under specific scenarios including fasting, caloric restriction, sleep, or others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase</span> Class of enzymes

The enzyme fructose bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11; systematic name D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate 1-phosphohydrolase) catalyses the conversion of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate to fructose 6-phosphate in gluconeogenesis and the Calvin cycle, which are both anabolic pathways:

Carbohydrate metabolism is the whole of the biochemical processes responsible for the metabolic formation, breakdown, and interconversion of carbohydrates in living organisms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ketoacidosis</span> Medical condition

Ketoacidosis is a metabolic state caused by uncontrolled production of ketone bodies that cause a metabolic acidosis. While ketosis refers to any elevation of blood ketones, ketoacidosis is a specific pathologic condition that results in changes in blood pH and requires medical attention. The most common cause of ketoacidosis is diabetic ketoacidosis but can also be caused by alcohol, medications, toxins, and rarely, starvation.

Fatty acid metabolism consists of various metabolic processes involving or closely related to fatty acids, a family of molecules classified within the lipid macronutrient category. These processes can mainly be divided into (1) catabolic processes that generate energy and (2) anabolic processes where they serve as building blocks for other compounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glycogen storage disease type I</span> Medical condition

Glycogen storage disease type I is an inherited disease that prevents the liver from properly breaking down stored glycogen, which is necessary in maintain adequate blood sugar levels. GSD I is divided into two main types, GSD Ia and GSD Ib, which differ in cause, presentation, and treatment. There are also possibly rarer subtypes, the translocases for inorganic phosphate or glucose ; however, a recent study suggests that the biochemical assays used to differentiate GSD Ic and GSD Id from GSD Ib are not reliable, and are therefore GSD Ib.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyruvate carboxylase</span>

Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) encoded by the gene PC is an enzyme of the ligase class that catalyzes the physiologically irreversible carboxylation of pyruvate to form oxaloacetate (OAA).

In biochemistry, lipogenesis is the conversion of fatty acids and glycerol into fats, or a metabolic process through which acetyl-CoA is converted to triglyceride for storage in fat. Lipogenesis encompasses both fatty acid and triglyceride synthesis, with the latter being the process by which fatty acids are esterified to glycerol before being packaged into very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). Fatty acids are produced in the cytoplasm of cells by repeatedly adding two-carbon units to acetyl-CoA. Triacylglycerol synthesis, on the other hand, occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane of cells by bonding three fatty acid molecules to a glycerol molecule. Both processes take place mainly in liver and adipose tissue. Nevertheless, it also occurs to some extent in other tissues such as the gut and kidney. A review on lipogenesis in the brain was published in 2008 by Lopez and Vidal-Puig. After being packaged into VLDL in the liver, the resulting lipoprotein is then secreted directly into the blood for delivery to peripheral tissues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glycogen storage disease type 0</span> Medical condition

Glycogen storage disease type 0 is a disease characterized by a deficiency in the glycogen synthase enzyme (GSY). Although glycogen synthase deficiency does not result in storage of extra glycogen in the liver, it is often classified as a glycogen storage disease because it is another defect of glycogen storage and can cause similar problems. There are two isoforms (types) of glycogen synthase enzyme; GSY1 in muscle and GSY2 in liver, each with a corresponding form of the disease. Mutations in the liver isoform (GSY2), causes fasting hypoglycemia, high blood ketones, increased free fatty acids and low levels of alanine and lactate. Conversely, feeding in these patients results in hyperglycemia and hyperlactatemia.

In chemistry, de novo synthesis refers to the synthesis of complex molecules from simple molecules such as sugars or amino acids, as opposed to recycling after partial degradation. For example, nucleotides are not needed in the diet as they can be constructed from small precursor molecules such as formate and aspartate. Methionine, on the other hand, is needed in the diet because while it can be degraded to and then regenerated from homocysteine, it cannot be synthesized de novo.

Starvation response in animals is a set of adaptive biochemical and physiological changes, triggered by lack of food or extreme weight loss, in which the body seeks to conserve energy by reducing the amount of calories it burns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inborn errors of carbohydrate metabolism</span> Medical condition

Inborn errors of carbohydrate metabolism are inborn error of metabolism that affect the catabolism and anabolism of carbohydrates.

Fructolysis refers to the metabolism of fructose from dietary sources. Though the metabolism of glucose through glycolysis uses many of the same enzymes and intermediate structures as those in fructolysis, the two sugars have very different metabolic fates in human metabolism. Unlike glucose, which is directly metabolized widely in the body, fructose is almost entirely metabolized in the liver in humans, where it is directed toward replenishment of liver glycogen and triglyceride synthesis. Under one percent of ingested fructose is directly converted to plasma triglyceride. 29% - 54% of fructose is converted in liver to glucose, and about a quarter of fructose is converted to lactate. 15% - 18% is converted to glycogen. Glucose and lactate are then used normally as energy to fuel cells all over the body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fatty-acid metabolism disorder</span> Medical condition

A broad classification for genetic disorders that result from an inability of the body to produce or utilize an enzyme or transport protein that is required to oxidize fatty acids. They are an inborn error of lipid metabolism, and when it affects the muscles also a metabolic myopathy.

Glyceroneogenesis is a metabolic pathway which synthesizes glycerol 3-phosphate or triglyceride from precursors other than glucose. Usually glycerol 3-phosphate is generated from glucose by glycolysis, but when glucose concentration drops in the cytosol, it is generated by another pathway called glyceroneogenesis. Glyceroneogenesis uses pyruvate, alanine, glutamine or any substances from the TCA cycle as precursors for glycerol 3-phosphate. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPC-K), which is an enzyme that catalyzes the decarboxylation of oxaloacetate to phosphoenolpyruvate is the main regulator for this pathway. Glyceroneogenesis can be observed in adipose tissue and also in the liver. It is a significant biochemical pathway that regulates cytosolic lipid levels. Intense suppression of glyceroneogenesis may lead to metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes.

References

  1. Baker L, Winegrad AI (July 1970). "Fasting hypoglycaemia and metabolic acidosis associated with deficiency of hepatic fructose-1,6-diphosphatase activity". Lancet. 2 (7662): 13–6. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(70)92474-8. PMID   4193749.
  2. Brockhoff, Dorothy (Spring 1971). "Her Present Is Her Health". Outlook Magazine. 8 (2): 16–18.
  3. Pagliara, Anthony S.; Karl, Irene E.; Keating, James P.; Brown, Barbara I.; Kipnis, David M. (1 August 1972). "Hepatic fructose-1,6-diphosphatase deficiency: A cause of lactic acidosis and hypoglycemia in infancy". The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 51 (8): 2115–2123. doi: 10.1172/JCI107018 . ISSN   0021-9738. PMC   292368 . PMID   4341015.
  4. Kikawa, Y.; Shin, Y. S.; Inuzuka, M.; Zammarchi, E.; Mayumi, M. (1 February 2002). "Diagnosis of Fructose-1,6-Bisphosphatase Deficiency Using Cultured Lymphocyte Fraction: A Secure and Noninvasive Alternative to Liver Biopsy". Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease. 25 (1): 41–46. doi:10.1023/A:1015129616599. ISSN   1573-2665. PMID   11999979. S2CID   36963911.