希特林蛋白缺乏症的研究进展及展望

希特林蛋白缺乏症是一类包含成年发作Ⅱ型瓜氨酸血症和希特林蛋白缺乏所致新生儿肝内胆汁淤积症两大疾病的常染色体隐性遗传性疾病。本病致病基因SLC25A13位于染色体7q21．3，编码的蛋白质称希特林蛋白。目前研究表明，希特林蛋白的功能主要是作为线粒体中天冬氨酸／谷氨酸载体。SLC25A13基因异常可导致所编码的希特林蛋白缺乏和成年发作Ⅱ型瓜氨酸血症或希特林蛋白缺乏所致新生儿肝内胆汁淤积症的发生。希特林蛋白缺乏症最初在日本发现，但近年来在中国、韩国、越南、以色列、捷克、美国和英国等也相继发现，并呈种族差异，提示本病可能在全球范围内广泛存在。现就希特林蛋白缺乏症目前的研究进展以及今后的研究思路进行了综述和述评。     

Mitochondrial aspartate glutamate carrier (citrin) deficiency as the cause of adult-onset type II citrullinemia (CTLN2) and idiopathic neonatal hepatitis (NICCD)

 By using homozygosity mapping and positional cloning, we have shown that adult-onset type II citrullinemia (CTLN2) is caused by mutations of the SLC25A13 gene, which is localized on chromosome 7q21.3 and encodes a mitochondrial solute carrier protein named citrin. So far, we have reported nine mutations, most of which cause loss of citrin, and we have established several methods for DNA diagnosis. These methods have shown that more than 90% of the patients diagnosed as suffering from CTLN2 by enzymatic analysis carry SLC25A13 mutations in both alleles, indicating that CTLN2 is caused by citrin deficiency. Furthermore, by using the same DNA diagnosis methods, we discovered that 70 neonates or infants suffering from a particular type of neonatal hepatitis carry the same SLC25A13 mutations. Since the symptoms of the neonates are different from those of the more severe CTLN2 and usually ameliorate without special treatment, we designated the neonatal disease neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis caused by citrin deficiency (NICCD). We conclude that citrin deficiency causes NICCD in neonates and CTLN2 in adults through the additional effects of genetic or environmental modifiers. Since the function of citrin, together with that of an isoform, aralar, was found to be as a mitochondrial aspartate glutamate carrier, the various symptoms of NICCD and CTLN2 may be understood as caused by defective aspartate export from the mitochondria to the cytosol and defects in the malate aspartate shuttle. It is, however, still difficult to understand the cause of the hepatic deficiency of argininosuccinate synthetase protein in CTLN2. Received: March 20, 2002 / Accepted: March 28, 2002     

Screening of SLC25A13 mutations in early and late onset patients with citrin deficiency and in the Japanese population: Identification of two novel mutations and establishment of multiple DNA diagnosis methods for nine mutations

We have recently identified SLC25A13 on chromosome 7q21.3 as the gene responsible for adult‐onset type II citrullinemia (CTLN2) and found seven mutations in the SLC25A13 gene of CTLN2 patients. Most recently, the SLC25A13 mutations have been detected in neonatal/infantile patients with a type of neonatal hepatitis associated with cholestasis (NICCD). In the present study, we identified a novel mutation, E601X, in the SLC25A13 gene and established multiple DNA diagnosis methods for eight mutations by using a genetic analyzer with GeneScan and the single primer extension procedure (SNaPshot). An additional novel missense mutation (variation), E601K, was detected by SNaPshot analysis and was indistinguishable from the mutation E601X detected by the PCR/RFLP method. Multiple DNA diagnoses for the nine mutations revealed that 100 (male/female: 70/30) out of 115 CTLN2 and 38 (14/24) out of 45 NICCD patients tested were homozygotes or compound heterozygotes. The frequency of homozygotes carrying SLC25A13 mutations in both alleles is estimated to be minimally 1 in 21,000 from carrier detection (18 in 1,315 individuals tested) in the Japanese population. The differences in the gender ratio and in mutation types between CTLN2 and NICCD patients are significant. It is, however, unknown whether all homozygotes with mutated SLC25A13 in both alleles suffer from NICCD, CTLN2, both, or neither. Hum Mutat 19:122–130, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Six cases of citrin deficiency in Korea

Citrin deficiency resulting from mutations of the SLC25A13 gene is associated with two major clinical phenotypes; neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis caused by citrin deficiency (NICCD) and adult-onset type 2 citrullinemia (CTLN2). In Korea, 6 cases of citrin deficiency were diagnosed based on biochemical and molecular findings. Four NICCD patients (2 boys and 2 girls) presented high citrulline levels on a newborn screening test or neonatal cholestasis. They were associated with conjugated hyperbilirubinemia, elevated liver enzymes, hypoalbuminemia, mild hyperammonemia, elevated citrulline, methionine and threonine. All of the hepatic manifestations were resolved spontaneously at the age of 5-9 months. Mutation analysis identified them as compound heterozygotes carrying each of the c.851del4, IVS11+1G>A, IVS13+1G>A, G393S, and IVS16ins3kb mutant alleles. Two adult male CTLN2 patients were identified. They were aged 24 and 37 years, and presented sudden loss of consciousness, hyperammonemia and citrullinemia. They were compound heterozygotes with IVS13+1G>A and IVS16ins3kb, and with c.851del4 and IVS11+1G>A mutant alleles. This report describes the clinical characteristics, biochemical findings and molecular analysis of the SLC25A13 gene of patients with citrin deficiency in Korea.     

Screening of nine SLC25A13 mutations: their frequency in patients with citrin deficiency and high carrier rates in Asian populations

Deficiency of citrin encoded by SLC25A13 causes adult-onset type II citrullinemia (CTLN2) and idiopathic neonatal hepatitis (NICCD). So far we have diagnosed 126 (3) CTLN2 and 103 (4) NICCD patients in Japan (and other countries). From preliminary population analysis of the known nine SLC25A13 mutations, we found that the carrier frequency is high in China (1/79), Taiwan (1/98), and Korea (1/50) as well as Japan (1/69), suggesting that many patients with citrin deficiency exist in East Asia.     

Citrin蛋白缺乏症研究进展

Citrin蛋白缺乏症是近年阐明病因的一类常染色体隐性遗传病,包括两种疾病：成年发作II型瓜氨酸血症(CTLN2)和citrin蛋白缺乏所致新生儿肝内胆汁淤积症(NICCD)。Citrin蛋白缺乏症致病基因SLC25A13位于染色体7q21.3, 编码的蛋白命名为citrin蛋白,是一种肝型线粒体钙结合天冬氨酸/谷氨酸载体。SLC25A13异常引起citrin蛋白缺乏症,已发现点突变、缺失等多种异常,呈种族差异。本病在日本病例较多,中国、韩国、越南、美国及捷克等囯都有病例报道,尤其在中国南方有较高的突变基因携带者频率。本文就该病发现史、citrin蛋白结构与功能、citrin蛋白缺乏症临床与实验室表现等方面做一综述。     

Identification of 13 novel mutations including a retrotransposal insertion in SLC25A13 gene and frequency of 30 mutations found in patients with citrin deficiency

Deficiency of citrin, liver-type mitochondrial aspartate-glutamate carrier, is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations of the SLC25A13 gene on chromosome 7q21.3 and has two phenotypes: neonatal intrahepatic cholestatic hepatitis (NICCD) and adult-onset type II citrullinemia (CTLN2). So far, we have described 19 SLC25A13 mutations. Here, we report 13 novel SLC25A13 mutations (one insertion, two deletion, three splice site, two nonsense, and five missense) in patients with citrin deficiency from Japan, Israel, UK, and Czech Republic. Only R360X was detected in both Japanese and Caucasian. IVS16ins3kb identified in a Japanese CTLN2 family seems to be a retrotransposal insertion, as the inserted sequence (2,667-nt) showed an antisense strand of processed complementary DNA (cDNA) from a gene on chromosome 6 (C6orf68), and the repetitive sequence (17-nt) derived from SLC25A13 was found at both ends of the insert. All together, 30 different mutations found in 334 Japanese, 47 Chinese, 11 Korean, four Vietnamese and seven non-East Asian families have been summarized. In Japan, IVS16ins3kb was relatively frequent in 22 families, in addition to known mutations IVS11 + 1G > A, 851del4, IVS13 + 1G > A, and S225X in 189, 173, 48 and 30 families, respectively; 851del4 and IVS16ins3kb were found in all East Asian patients tested, suggesting that these mutations may have occurred very early in some area of East Asia.     

Frequency and distribution in East Asia of 12 mutations identified in the SLC25A13 gene of Japanese patients with citrin deficiency

Deficiency of citrin, a liver-type mitochondrial aspartate-glutamate carrier (AGC), encoded by the SLC25A13 gene on chromosome 7q21.3, causes autosomal recessive disorders: adult-onset type II citrullinemia (CTLN2) and neonatal hepatitis associated with intrahepatic cholestasis (NICCD). So far, we have described 12 SLC25A13 mutations: 11 were from Japan and one from Israel. Three mutations found in Chinese and Vietnamese patients were the same as those in Japanese patients. In the present study, we identified a novel mutation IVS6+1G>C in a Japanese CTLN2 patient and widely screened 12 SLC25A13 mutations found in Japanese patients in control individuals from East Asia to confirm our preliminary results that the carrier frequency was high in Asian populations. Mutations 851–854del and 1638–1660dup were found in all Asian countries tested, and 851–854del associated with 290-haplotype in microsatellite marker D7S1812 was especially frequent. Other mutations frequently detected were IVS11+1G>A in Japanese and Korean, S225X in Japanese, and IVS6+5G>A in Chinese populations. We found a remarkable difference in carrier rates in China (including Taiwan) between north (1/940) and south (1/48) of the Yangtze River. We detected many carriers in Chinese (64/4169 = 1/65), Japanese (20/1372 = 1/69) and Korean (22/2455 = 1/112) populations, suggesting that over 80,000 East Asians are homozygotes with two mutated SLC25A13 alleles.     

Simple and rapid genetic testing for citrin deficiency by screening 11 prevalent mutations in SLC25A13

Citrin deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the SLC25A13 gene and has two disease outcomes: adult-onset type II citrullinemia and neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis caused by citrin deficiency. The clinical appearance of these diseases is variable, ranging from almost no symptoms to coma, brain edema, and severe liver failure. Genetic testing for SLC25A13 mutations is essential for the diagnosis of citrin deficiency because chemical diagnoses are prohibitively difficult. Eleven SLC25A13 mutations account for 95% of the mutant alleles in Japanese patients with citrin deficiency. Therefore, a simple test for these mutations is desirable. We established a 1-hour, closed-tube assay for the 11 SLC25A13 mutations using real-time PCR. Each mutation site was amplified by PCR followed by a melting-curve analysis with adjacent hybridization probes (HybProbe, Roche). The 11 prevalent mutations were detected in seven PCR reactions. Six reactions were used to detect a single mutation each, and one reaction was used to detect five mutations that are clustered in a 21-bp region in exon 17. To test the reliability, we used this method to genotype blind DNA samples from 50 patients with citrin deficiency. Our results were in complete agreement those obtained using previously established methods. Furthermore, the mutations could be detected without difficulty using dried blood samples collected on filter paper. Therefore, this assay could be used for newborn screening and for facilitating the genetic diagnosis of citrin deficiency, especially in East Asian populations.     

婴儿肝内胆汁淤积症SLC25A13基因突变分析

目的探讨SLC25A13基因突变在中国婴儿肝内胆汁淤积症患儿中的检出率,初步了解突变患儿血生化及氨基酸谱特征,肝脏活组织病理变化。方法2003年12月至2006年12月就诊于复旦大学附属儿科医院的婴儿肝内胆汁淤积症患儿,满足本研究入选条件者共115例进行了血氨基酸质谱分析,伴血浆瓜氨酸明显升高的患儿进行SLC25A13基因全部外显子及邻近序列测序,不伴血浆瓜氨酸明显升高的患儿进行SLC25A13基因常见突变851del4（突变Ⅰ）及突变1638ins23（突变Ⅲ）筛查,突变851del4采用实时荧光定量PCR双标记探针法检测,突变1638ins23采用PCR产物直接电泳法检测,对仅检出单个位点突变的筛查对象,继续进行其余已报道的10种突变位点检测。检测结果仍为单个杂合突变的对象进行SLC25A13基因所有外显子区及其邻近序列分析。对确诊突变患儿的临床表现、血生化及血氨基酸特征等进行分析。结果5例伴血瓜氨酸明显升高的患儿共检出突变4例,其中纯合突变851del4/851del41例,复合杂合突变851del4/1638ins231例,杂合突变851del42例;110例不伴血浆瓜氨酸明显升高患儿共检出突变6例,其中纯合突变851del4/851del41例,复合杂合突变851del4/1638ins231例,杂合突变851del44例。115例婴儿肝内胆汁淤积症患儿共检出SLC25A13基因突变10例,占8.7%。突变患儿血生化改变包括胆红素、γ-谷氨酰转移酶以及碱性磷酸酶等明显升高,AST升高较ALT明显。血串联质谱发现5例突变患儿有特征性氨基酸瓜氨酸、苏氨酸及蛋氨酸升高,另5例突变患儿并无血氨基酸改变。10例患儿中有7例行肝脏活组织病理学检查,4例有显著的脂肪变性。结论SLC25A13基因突变是中国婴儿肝内胆汁淤积症的重要原因之一。肝脏活组织病理、血生化及氨基酸谱等检查对诊断SLC25A13基因突变患儿有重要意义,但最终仍需通过基因检测确诊。     

五例新生儿肝内胆汁淤积症患儿基因的突变分析CSCD

目的明确5例新生儿肝内胆汁淤积症患儿的分子机制。方法应用新一代测序技术对患儿的SLC25A13基因进行外显子捕获检测,对突变位点进行Sanger测序验证。用PolyPhen-2软件对新突变的致病性进行分析。结果 5例患儿均携带SLC25A13基因的复合突变,共发现8个突变位点,其中2个既往未见报道(c.1357A>G和c.1663dup23)。5例患儿的父母均为突变携带者。结论 SLC25A13基因的突变可能是5例患儿的发病原因,所携带的突变以851del4和1638-1660dup为主。新发现的c.1357A>G和c.1663dup23突变丰富了SLC25A13基因的突变谱。     

Neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis caused by citrin deficiency in Korean infants

Citrin is a liver-type mitochondrial aspartate-glutamate carrier encoded by the SLC25A13 gene, and its deficiency causes adult-onset type II citrullinemia and neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis caused by citrin deficiency (NICCD). Here, the authors investigated clinical findings in Korean infants with NICCD and performed mutation analysis on the SLC25A13 gene. Of 47 patients with neonatal cholestasis, three infants had multiple aminoacidemia (involving citrulline, methionine, and arginine) and galactosemia, and thus were diagnosed as having NICCD. Two of these three showed failure to thrive. The laboratory findings showed hypoproteinemia and hyperammonemia, and liver biopsies revealed micro-macrovesicular fatty liver and cholestasis. The three patients each harbored compound heterozygous 1,638-1,660 dup/ S225X mutation, compound heterozygous 851del4/S225X mutation, and heterozygous 1,638-1,660 dup mutation, respectively. With nutritional manipulation, liver functions were normalized and catch-up growth was achieved. NICCD should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cholestatic jaundice in Korean infants.     

Citrin缺陷导致的新生儿肝内胆汁淤积症患儿SLC25A13基因突变与生化指标的相关性研究*

 目的：分析citrin缺陷导致的新生儿肝内胆汁淤积症(NICCD)患儿SLC25A13基因突变及生化改变特点,并探讨两者相关性。方法：2013年3月至2013年10月在暨南大学附属第一医院以胆汁淤积性肝病就诊的婴儿59例,其中经SLC25A13基因分析确诊的NICCD患儿36例为病例组,排除NICCD且未发现明确病因的23例特发性新生儿胆汁淤积症(INC)患儿为对照组。抽取静脉血提取DNA进行SLC25A13突变检测,并分析所有研究对象的血糖、丙氨酸氨基转移酶（ALT）、天门冬氨酸氨基转移酶（AST）、γ-谷氨酰转移酶（GGT）、碱性磷酸酶（ALP）、甘油三酯（TG）、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇（HDL-C）和低密度脂蛋白胆固醇（LDL-C）等数据资料。结果：NICCD组ALT及LDL-C水平低于对照组。检出SLC25A13基因突变10种,其中851del4、IVS16ins3kb、IVS6+5G>A和1638ins23 突变占全部突变数量的82%。不同性别及年龄段的NICCD患儿其SLC25A13基因突变分布未见不同。SLC25A13基因突变与患儿的血糖、ALT、AST、ALP、TG及HDL-C水平无关联,而与GTT的水平有关联。结论：低LDL-C血症可能是NICCD患儿血脂紊乱的特点。NICCD患儿SLC25A13基因的高频突变类型为851del4、IVS16ins3kb、IVS6+5G>A和1638ins23。本文NICCD患儿的SLC25A13突变分布与GGT水平之间存在相关性,但这一发现的意义有待深入研究。     

Citrin deficiency,a perplexing global disorder

Citrin deficiency, caused by mutations in SLC25A13, can present with neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis or with adult onset neuropsychiatric, hepatic and pancreatic disease. Until recently, it had been thought to be found mostly in individuals of East Asian ancestry. A key diagnostic feature has been the deficient argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS) activity (E.C. 6.3.4.5) in liver, with normal activity in skin fibroblasts. In this series we describe the clinical presentation of 10 patients referred to our laboratories for sequence analysis of the SCL25A13 gene, including several patients who presented with elevated citrulline on newborn screening. In addition to sequence analysis performed on all patients, ASS enzyme activity, citrulline incorporation and Western blot analysis for ASS and citrin were performed on skin fibroblasts if available. We have found 5 unreported mutations including two apparent founder mutations in three unrelated French-Canadian patients. In marked contrast to previous cases, these patients have a markedly reduced ASS activity in skin fibroblasts. The presence of citrin protein on Western blot in three of our cases reduces the sensitivity of a screening test based on protein immunoblotting. The finding of citrin mutations in patients of Arabic, Pakistani, French Canadian and Northern European origins supports the concept that citrin deficiency is a panethnic disease.     

Adult-onset type II citrullinemia and idiopathic neonatal hepatitis caused by citrin deficiency: involvement of the aspartate glutamate carrier for urea synthesis and maintenance of the urea cycle

Citrin is a mitochondrial aspartate glutamate carrier primarily expressed in the liver, heart, and kidney. We found that adult-onset type II citrullinemia is caused by mutations in the SLC25A13 gene that encodes for citrin. In this report, we describe the frequency of SLC25A13 mutations, the roles of citrin as a member of the urea cycle and as a member of the malate-aspartate shuttle, the relationship between its functions and symptoms of citrin deficiency, and therapeutic issues.     

Clinical heterogeneity of neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis caused by citrin deficiency: case reports from 16 patients

A deficiency of citrin, which is encoded by the SLC25A13 gene, causes both adult-onset type II citrullinemia (CTLN2) and neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis (NICCD). We analyzed 16 patients with NICCD to clarify the clinical features of the disease. Severe intrahepatic cholestasis with fatty liver was the most common symptom, but the accompanying clinical features were variable, namely; suspected cases of neonatal hepatitis or biliary atresia, positive results from newborn screening, tyrosinemia, failure to thrive, hemolytic anemia, bleeding tendencies and ketotic hypoglycemia. Laboratory data showed elevated serum bile acid levels, hypoproteinemia, low levels of vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors, and hypergalactosemia. Hypercitrullinemia was detected in 11 out of 15 patients examined. Most of the patients were given a lactose-free and/or medium chain triglycerides-enriched formula and lipid-soluble vitamins. The prognosis of the 16 patients is going fairy well at present, but we should observe these patients carefully to see if they manifest any symptom of CTLN2 in the future.     

感音神经性耳聋患者大前庭导水管综合征相关SLC26A4基因IVS7-2A＞G的全序列分析

目的 对携带SLC26A4基因IVS7-2A＞G单杂合突变感音神经性耳聋患者进行 SLC26A4基因的全序列检测,以期发现除IVS7-2A＞G以外的其他突变.方法 应用直接测序法对80例携带IVS7-2A＞G单杂合突变的感音神经性耳聋患者进行SLC26A4基因进行全序列测序.结果 80例患者中47例发现另1个突变位点,其余33例未发现复合杂合突变,IVS7-2A＞G单杂合突变找到另外1个突变的比例为58.8%(47/80).发现了 3个新的突变,分别是5+2T＞A、14-2A＞G和1825del G,最为常见的5种突变为H723R(20%)、T410M(5%)、15+5G＞A(5%)、L676Q(5%)、N392Y(3.75%).第17外显子是突变发生种类最多的外显子.结论 SLC26A4基因IVS7-2A＞G单杂合突变者应该进行其他突变的筛查,SLC26A4基因复合突变可以解释部分的耳聋原因.     

Analysis of genetic mutations in Chinese patients with systemic primary carnitine deficiency

Systemic primary carnitine deficiency (CDSP) is caused by mutations in SLC22A5 gene, which encodes organic cation transporter 2(OCTN2). CDSP leads to skeletal or cardiac myopathy and hepatic encephalopathy. The present study aimed to identify SLC22A5 gene mutations and analyze the potential relationship between genotype and clinical symptoms in 20 Chinese patients with CDSP. The complete coding region of the SLC22A5 gene including intron-exon boundaries were amplified and sequenced in all patients. Eighteen different mutations were found; of which, nine were novel. The mutations clustering in exons 1 and 4 accounted for 66.7% of all mutant alleles (26/39). The c.760C>T (p. R254X) was the most frequent mutation (25.6%, 10/39), suggesting it as an ethnic founder mutation. The relationship between genotype and phenotype was investigated in patients carrying the R254X mutation. Homozygous patients with R254X were late-onset cases who presented with dilated cardiomyopathy and muscle weakness after 1 year of age. Compound heterozygous patients carrying R254X, combined with other missense mutations occurred in very specific positions, dramatically altered OCTN2 protein function. Based on the analysis of case studies, a clear relationship between free carnitine (C0) level in plasma and OCTN2 genotype was not found in the present work, however, the low plasma C0 level could not indicate disease severity or genotype. Further functional studies with a large sample size are required to understand the relationship between R254X mutation and CDSP.     

Identification of 12 novel mutations in the SLC3A1 gene in Swedish cystinuria patients

Cystinuria is an autosomal recessive disorder that affects luminal transport of cystine and dibasic amino acids in the kidneys and the small intestine. Three subtypes of cystinuria can be defined biochemically, and the classical form (type I) has been associated with mutations in the amino acid transporter gene SLC3A1. The mutations detected in SLC3A1 tend to be population specific and have not been previously investigated in Sweden. We have screened the entire coding sequence and the intron/exon boundaries of the SLC3A1 gene in 53 cystinuria patients by means of single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and DNA sequencing. We identified 12 novel mutations (a 2 bp deletion, one splice site mutation, and 10 missense mutations) and detected another three mutations that were previously reported. Five polymorphisms were also identified, four of which were formerly described. The most frequent mutation in this study was the previously reported M467T and it was also detected in the normal population with an allelic frequency of 0.5%. Thirty‐seven patients were homozygous for mutations in the SLC3A1 gene and another seven were heterozygous which implies that other genes may be involved in cystinuria. Future investigation of the non‐type I cystinuria gene SLC7A9 may complement our results but recent studies also suggest the presence of other potential disease genes. Hum Mutat 18:516–525, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.