Hypouricemia related to a hypersecretional tubulopathy

We present 1 patient with hypouricemia and hyperuricosuria. Serum uric acid level ranged between 1.5 and 1.9 mg/dl and uric acid fractional excretion between 20 and 28%. Apart from that the renal function was normal. The pyrazinamide suppression test gave a normal response showing nearly complete suppression of urate excretion. The uricosuric response to sulfinpyrazone was normal too. The renal tubular response to extracellular fluid volume contraction induced by furosemide indicated a normal tubular sensitivity to extracellular fluid volume variations. From these results we conclude that our patient has a specific tubulopathy characterized by uric acid hypersecretion.     

Two cases of exercise-induced acute renal failure with idiopathic renal hypouricemia

Acute renal failure without oliguria developed in a 25-year-old male and a 19-year-old male after exercise. Marked hypouricemia became apparent during improvement of their renal function. Increased excretion of uric acid into the urine, increased fractional excretion of uric acid(clearance ratio of uric acid against creatinine), and normal concentration of plasma xanthine and hypoxanthine were observed in both cases. Probenecid and pyrazinamide loading test suggesting decreased reabsorption of uric acid in the proximal convoluted tubules revealed that presecretory reabsorption defect of uric acid resulted in the hypouricemia in both cases. These two cases were diagnosed as having idiopathic renal hypouricemia.     

A case of acute renal failure in a patient with idiopathic hypouricemia]

This report is a 17-year-old man with an acute renal failure who complained of nausea, vomiting, bilateral loin pain and abdominal pain after scuffle. Renal biopsy specimen obtained from the left kidney revealed acute tubular necrosis. After recovering renal function he showed extreme hypouricemia (serum uric acid, 0.6 mg/dl) and elevated uric acid clearance (62-78 ml/min). The fractional excretion of uric acid (CUA/Ccr) could not be influenced by either oral pyrazinamide or probenecid. As no other renal tubular or metabolic abnormalities were detected, it is suggested that presecretory reabsorption defect or subtotal defect in uric acid transportation was responsible for the hypouricemia in this patient.     

Patients with renal hypouricemia with exercise-induced acute renal failure and chronic renal dysfunction

We here report the case of a 38-year-old male with back pain and vomiting occurring after exercise. Serum creatinine level was elevated, and he was admitted to our hospital with diagnosis of acute renal failure (ARF). He had experienced similar attacks at least 4 times, including the present episode, from the age of 22 years. After admission, the patient was managed only by resting, and remission was nearly attained in about 1 month. The renal biopsy specimen performed on day 15 showed findings of acute tubular necrosis, thickening of the tubular basement membrane, and interstitial fibrosis. After remission, the serum uric acid level was 0.7-0.8 mg/dl, fractional excretion of uric acid was 0.63, and the possibility of other diseases facilitating the excretion of uric acid was denied. Therefore, ARF associated with idiopathic renal hypouricemia was diagnosed. Since only mild responses were observed in a pyradinamide loading test and a benzbromarone loading test, the case was considered to be a presecretary reabsorption disorder type. Renal function tests showed the almost complete recovery of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR: 114 ml/min/1.73 m2), but the urine concentrating ability was markedly decreased (specific gravity 1.019 and osmolarity 516 mOsm/kgxH2O in Fishberg test). Past data from this patient indicated that this renal dysfunction had been persisting for ten years. We examined 9 patients with renal hypouricemia and focused on the differences between the two groups (with or without complications). Four patients had a history of exercise-induced ARF or calculus. The urine concentrating ability was significantly lower in these patients (group A) than in the other patients without complications (group B). The glomerular filtration rate in group A was within the normal range, but was lower than in group B. These results suggested the possibility that patients with renal hypouricemia with complications may have chronic renal dysfunction in the future.     

Hypouricemia, an old subject and new concepts

DEFINITION OF HYPOURICEMIA: Hypouricemia (serum uric acid less than 120 micro mol/l) is a biological abnormality often discovered accidentally and with a low prevalence depending on its permanent or transitory nature ranging from 0.15 to 3.38%. NEW PHYSIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS OF ITS PATHOGENESIS: Recently, our knowledge of the physiopathological mechanisms of hypouricemia has been emphasized by the identification of three systems of renal and extra-renal uric acid transport: a Cl/urate (URAT1) transporter, a multispecific organic anion transporter (OAT) and a urate transporter/channel. ETIOLOGY AND COMPLICATIONS OF HYPOURICEMIA: Through questioning, drugs and toxics (allopurinol.) are generally rapidly recognized as responsible for half of the hypouricemia encountered. It can be concomitant to a known disease: severe liver disease, neoplasia, diabetes, AIDS, syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion. Hypouricemia can also be isolated and justifies the measurement of uric acid clearance, the normality or reduction of which orients towards a deficiency in xanthine-oxydase, the increase in which suggests an abnormality in uric acid transport in the proximal tubule (Fanconi syndrome, primary hereditary anomaly of tubular uric acid transport). Hypouricemia does not appear to expose the patient to any danger, but the onset of nephrolithiasis or acute renal failure secondary to the combination of severe hypouricemia and oxidant stress is always possible.     

Mutational analysis of idiopathic renal hypouricemia in Korea

Idiopathic renal hypouricemia is a hereditary disease characterized by abnormally high renal uric acid clearance. Most patients are clinically silent, but acute renal failure (ARF), urolithiasis, or hematuria may develop. A defect in the SLC22A12 gene, which encodes the renal uric acid transporter, URAT1, is the known major cause of this disorder. We performed a mutational analysis of the SLC22A12 gene in five Korean patients with idiopathic renal hypouricemia in this study. Two patients presented with microscopic hematuria, one with uric acid urolithiasis, and one with exercise-induced ARF. One patient was asymptomatic. Three different mutations, W258X, R90H and R477H, were detected in four of the patients. However, no mutation was found in the fifth ARF patient. This is the first study of SLC22A12 mutations in a country other than Japan. W258X was found to be the predominant SLC22A12 mutation in Korean renal hypouricemia patients, as has been reported in Japan.     

Exercise-induced acute renal failure in 3 patients with renal hypouricemia

Three cases of exercise-induced non-oliguric acute renal failure in patients with renal hypouricemia, an isolated defect of the renal urate transport system, are described. During acute renal failure, the serum uric acid levels were 5.6, 2.7 and 5.8 mg/dl, respectively, and were within normal limits. The values representing the fractional excretion of uric acid (FEUA) were 28.7, 60.0 and 12.7%, with accompanying serum creatinine levels of 8.1, 3.9 and 3.3 mg/dl, respectively. After recovery, the serum uric acid fell to 0.6, 0.7 and 1.0 mg/dl and the FEUA increased to 79.3, 52.8 and 43.2%, respectively. Two of the patients examined exhibited decreased reabsorption of filtered urate. These 3 examples of renal hypouricemia represented 23% of 13 cases of mild exercise-induced acute renal failure encountered within our experience.     

Hypouricemia due to increased tubular urate secretion

A 45-year-old woman had hypouricemia (serum uric acid, 1.0-2.3 mg/dl) with increased uric acid clearance (29.8 +/- 9.3 ml/min/1.73 m2). Uric acid clearance to creatinine clearance ratio (Cua/Ccr) was suppressed markedly by pyrazinamide to 2.3% and surprisingly enhanced by probenecid to 227.8%. No other renal tubular or metabolic abnormalities were detected. This previously unreported high postprobenecid Cua/Ccr suggests that markedly increased urate secretion by the renal tubule is responsible for hypouricemia in this patient.     

Uric acid and the kidney

Uric acid, the end product of purine metabolism, is excreted predominantly by the proximal tubules. Abnormal serum levels of uric acid are due to alterations in production or excretion. Fractional excretion of uric acid is helpful in determining the underlying etiology of hypouricemia or hyperuricemia in children. Abnormalities in the molecular mechanisms that control renal uric acid tubular transport are implicated in various disorders associated with abnormal uric acid levels. Gout is rare in children; yet its presence necessitates evaluation for enzymatic defects in purine metabolism. Well-known effects of uric acid on the kidney include nephrolithiasis and acute kidney injury (AKI) in the setting of tumor lysis. However, recent data suggest that uric acid may be an important factor in the pathogenesis of AKI in general, as well as of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hypertension. Hence, uric acid may not only be a marker but also a potential therapeutic target in kidney disease. Nonetheless, because of confounders, more studies are needed to clarify the association between uric acid and multifactorial disorders of the kidney.     

A case of acute renal failure after exercise with renal hypouricemia demonstrated compound heterozygous mutations of uric acid transporter 1

Familial renal hypouricemia is a hereditary disease characterized by extraordinary high renal uric acid (UA) clearance and is associated with acute renal failure (ARF). A 17-year-old Japanese male developed ARF after anerobic exercise. Renal function improved completely after approximately 2 weeks of hydration treatment. After remission, hypouricemia became evident (1.0 mg/dL) from the initial level of UA (4.8 mg/dL) and fractional excretion of uric acid (FEUA) was >50%. His parents showed normal levels of UA and FEUA. Polymerase chain reaction of a urate anion exchanger known to regulate UA level [SLC22A12 gene: UA transporter 1 (URAT1)] demonstrated compound heterozygous mutations (Q297X and R90H). Thus, we describe a Japanese male with hypouricemia complicated by anerobic exercise-induced ARF, with definite demonstration of a genetic abnormality in the responsible gene, URAT1.     

Cause of persistent hypouricemia in outpatients

We measured serum urate in 3,258 Japanese outpatients. Five of them had persistent hypouricemia. Three also had microhematuria. Four of the five patients were proven to have renal uricosuria with hypouricemia, but otherwise normal tubular function. When tested with both pyrazinamide and benzbromarone, 1 patient had a presecretory reabsorption defect, 2 had postabsorption defects, and 1 an enhanced renal tubular secretion of urate. These results suggest that persistent hypouricemia in outpatients is of very low incidence, is usually caused by an isolated metabolic error of urate transport, and is not related to drug ingestion or systemic disease.     

Cholangiocarcinoma and severe renal hypouricemia: a study of the renal mechanisms.

Hypouricemia in malignant neoplasms is rarely reported. We present a previously unreported case of cholangiocarcinoma associated with severe persistent hypouricemia (serum uric acid levels ranged from 0.07 to 0.08 mmol/L [1.16 to 1.40 mg/100 mL], and increased urate clearance (50.90 to 57.33 mL/min v a mean value in 20 normal subjects of 9.75 +/- 1.65 mL/min). High fractional urate clearance (Cus/Ccr = 0.50 to 0.58 v 0.09 +/- 0.01 in normals) was suppressed only slightly following pyrazinamide (PZA), to 0.29 versus 0.007, and was surprisingly enhanced by probenecid (PB) to 1.78 versus 0.63 in normals. No other renal tubular or metabolic abnormalities were detected. This previously unreported association of a high PZA-nonsuppressible urate excretion with a postprobenecid urate clearance exceeding glomerular filtration rate suggests that a combined renal tubular defect is responsible for hypouricemia. The patient described here provides evidence to support the presence of a presecretory reabsorptive defect in association with a "relatively high" urate secretion by the renal tubule. This report adds to the list of hypouricemic conditions and presents an important clue to elucidate urate handling mechanisms in man.     

Exercise-induced acute renal failure with renal hypouricemia: a case report and a review of the literature

A previously healthy 16-year-old boy developed acute renal failure following a track race at a local athletic meeting. Several hours after the run, he expressed pain in the loins with nausea and vomiting. After 3 sessions of hemodialysis, he was referred to our hospital. On admission, serum creatinine was elevated to 2.3 mg/dl without an increase in serum uric acid level. After recovery from acute renal failure (ARF), hypouricemia (0.7 mg/dl) became evident in the patient. One year later, he suffered from ARF after a track race with the highest creatinine levels of 1.1 mg/dl. In order to clarify the cause and prognosis of ARF with renal hypouricemia, we summarized the clinical features in 18 patients previously described and our patient. Serum uric acid levels after recovery from ARF were below 1.0 mg/dl in all patients. Renal biopsy in 9 patients showed acute tubular necrosis in 8 patients and uric acid nephropathy in 1. The short-term prognosis of these patients seemed good, although 5 patients needed to undergo hemodialysis in their ARF courses. However, the recurrence of ARF episodes occurred in 6 patients (31.6%) including our patient, indicating that prevention of ARF might be necessary in these patients. More information is required to establish guidance for prevention of ARF.     

Fanconi syndrome following honeybee stings

A 32-year-old gentleman was attacked by honey bees about 8 months and immediately afterwards his eyelids, cheeks and pinnae became swollen, red, and tender. However, the patient did not develop any renal or serum sickness symptoms and his physical examination and laboratory investigations were normal. He recovered completely. A week later, while working on his farm, he experienced a sudden loss of muscular tone in all four limbs without losing his consciousness. The medical examination subsequently revealed flaccid quadriparesis associated with a serum potassium of 2.1 mEq/L. He was also found to have hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis with normal anion gap and preserved ability to acidify urine to a pH of 5.5. These findings were suggestive of proximal renal tubular acidosis (Fanconi syndrome). Other abnormalities like hypophosphataemia, hypouricemia, renal glucosuria and high urinary excretion of calcium, phosphorus and uric acid further supported the diagnosis of proximal tubular dysfunction. The renal biopsy revealed dense lymphocytic interstitial infiltrate, a feature often seen in Sjogren’s syndrome, in which at least 50% of patients fail to acidify urine. In our patient, thorough search for other causes of proximal renal tubular acidosis was negative.     

Renal hypouricemia in school-aged children: screening of serum uric acid level before physical training

We present two cases of a 12-year-old Japanese boy and a 14-year-old Japanese girl who had exercise-induced acute renal failure (ARF). They experienced general fatigue, nausea/vomiting, and vague discomfort in the abdomen after physical exercise at school. In case of the boy, abdominal pain subsided, but renal dysfunction lasted 17 days, with peak levels of creatinine 9.4 mg/dl and uric acid 11.3 mg/dl. On the other hand, as the girl had suffered from hypouricemia before, she followed a doctor’s guidance on prevention of ARF. Consequently, she was promptly diagnosed as having exercise-induced ARF associated with hypouricemia, and rapidly recovered from ARF within a week. The difference between their clinical courses suggested a possibility that previous laboratory evaluation of serum uric acid assisted in the management of exercise-induced ARF associated with hypouricemia. School-aged children, especially Japanese and Asian, may be advised to have their serum uric acid measured before starting physical training at school.     

Acute renal failure after exercise in a patient with renal hypouricemia

A 22-year-old man had recurrent exercise-induced acute renal failure (ARF). He was found to have isolated renal hypouricemia: serum uric acid level was 0.7–1.0 mg/dl and fractional excretion of uric acid (FE_UA) was 37%–43%. He showed no suppression of FE_UA following the the administration of pyrazinamide, and no increase of FE_UA after benzbromarone, suggesting a subtotal defect. We investigated renal function, FE_UA, and serum nitric oxide after a treadmill exercise test in our patient and two control subjects. On the day after the exercise test, plain and enhanced abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans were performed in our patient. During the arterial phase, early equilibration phase, equilibration phase, and 2, 6, and 24 h after the injection of contrast medium, renal CT scans were performed at the same slice level. Although ARF was not induced by this level of exercise, the CT scans showed patchy contrast enhancement 2, 6, and 24 h after contrast medium administration. This finding suggests that patchy renal vasoconstriction may occur in patients with renal hypouricemia after strenuous exercise, even in the setting of normal creatinine clearance. Received: June 19, 1998 / Accepted: September 4, 1998     

Diabetic hypouricemia as an indicator of clinical nephropathy

We studied the possible association of the low serum uric acid level with incipient diabetic nephropathy in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Of 201 NIDDM patients without a diminished glomerular filtration rate, 66 patients (32.8%) showed moderate hypouricemia of less than the mean-1 SD of 201 nondiabetic controls. Thirteen (6.5%) showed marked hypouricemia of less than the mean-2 SD. Hypouricemic patients showed normal daily urinary urate excretion with a markedly elevated urate clearance/creatinine clearance ratio. Most were under poor glycemic control, and presented either negative or intermittent clinical proteinuria. However, neither poor glycemic control, nor the presence of proteinuria or retinopathy alone significantly affected the serum uric acid level of the whole diabetic population. The glomerular filtration rate was determined in comparable groups of diabetic patients with hypouricemia and nonhypouricemic diabetic controls. The hypouricemic group showed a significantly higher endogenous creatinine clearance and lower serum beta-2-microglobulin levels than the nonhypouricemic group. These findings suggest that the hypouricemic group had a higher glomerular filtration rate. Long-term observation of up to 12 years of the above patients revealed that, in most patients, persistent hypouricemia was observed prior to the initial appearance of intermittent proteinuria. We hypothesize that glomerular hyperfiltration also occurs in NIDDM and that it lowers the serum uric acid by increasing the renal clearance of urate. Hypouricemia may also predict the future progression of incipient nephropathy in NIDDM.     

Two cases of nephrotic syndrome (NS)-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) associated with renal hypouricemia

Renal hypouricemia is a clinical disorder attributed to an increased renal urate excretion rate and is well known to involve a high risk of urolithiasis and exercise-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). This report concerns two interesting cases of nephrotic syndrome (NS)-induced AKI associated with renal hypouricemia. A 64-year-old female (Case 1) and a 37-year-old male (Case 2) were hospitalized because of AKI (serum creatinine: 2.07 mg/dl and 3.3 mg/dl, respectively), oliguria and NS. They were treated with prednisolone and temporary hemodialysis. Renal function improved, but hypouricemia persisted during hospitalization. Histological findings in both cases led to a diagnosis of minimal change nephrotic syndrome and identification of the diuretic phase of tubulointerstitial damage because of findings such as acute tubular necrosis. Furthermore, distal tubules of Case 2 showed an amorphous mass, possibly a uric acid crystal. Analysis of the two cases with the URAT1 gene, encoded by SLC22A12, found a homozygous mutation in exon 4 (W258stop) of each one. Our cases show that patients with renal hypouricemia may be susceptible to AKI without involvement of exercise if they possess some facilitators. Renal hypouricemic patients should therefore be carefully examined for all complications from renal hypouricemia because of high risk of AKI.     

Exercise-induced acute renal failure in a patient with renal hypouricemia

We describe a case of exercise-induced acute renal failure (ARF) in a patient with hypouricemia. Following recovery from ARF, the patient’s serum urate concentration was 0.6–0.9 mg/dl, and the ratio of urate clearance to creatinine clearance (C _ua/C _Cr) was 41.9%–56.6%. There was no change in the C _ua/C _Cr following the administration of pyrazinamide or probenecid, suggesting defects of tubular urate/anion exchangers. Because the renal biopsy revealed acute tubular necrosis without uric acid crystals, the ARF of this patient might be due to oxygen free radicals resulting from exercise stress and hypouricemia. Received: 15 March 1999 / Revised: 10 September 1999 / Accepted: 14 September 1999     

Functional analysis of novel allelic variants in URAT1 and GLUT9 causing renal hypouricemia type 1 and 2

Background

Renal hypouricemia is a rare heterogeneous inherited disorder characterized by impaired tubular uric acid transport with severe complications, such as acute kidney injury and nephrolithiasis. Type 1 is caused by a loss-of-function mutation in the SLC22A12 gene (URAT1), while type 2 is caused by defects in the SLC2A9 gene (GLUT9).

Methods and results

In this article we present clinical, biochemical and molecular genetics of two Czech patients. The serum uric acid in the probands was 57 and 98 µmol/l and expressed as an increase in the fractional excretion of uric acid (40 and 18 %). The sequencing analysis of SLC22A12 and SLC2A9 revealed novel variants p.R92C and p.R203C in URAT1 and p.G72D in GLUT9. Functional studies were performed for these novel variants and for previously reported variants p.I118HfsX27, p.G216R and p.N333S in GLUT9 responsible for renal hypouricemia in three probands from Czech Republic and United Kingdom. Functional studies showed significantly decreased urate uptake for all variants. However, urate uptake of GLUT9 variants prepared for both isoforms were not significantly different.

Conclusions

This is the first complex function characterization of non-synonymous allelic variants in patients with renal hypouricemia regarding both GLUT9 isoforms. Our finding of defects in the SLC2A9 and SLC22A12 genes show the following: renal hypouricemia is not restricted to East Asia populations; urate uptake of GLUT9 variants prepared for both isoforms were not significantly different; renal hypouricemia type 2 has more wide clinical variability than type 1; the phenotypic severity of renal hypouricemia is not correlated with results of functional characterizations of URAT1 and GLUT9 variants.