Hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction is a feature of Glycogen Storage Disease Type Ia (GSDIa).

Abstract

Glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSDIa, von Gierke disease) is the most common glycogen storage disorder. It is caused by the deficiency of glucose-6-phosphatase, an enzyme which catalyses the final step of gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis. Clinically, GSDIa is characterized by fasting hypoglycaemia and hepatic glycogen and triglyceride overaccumulation. The latter leads to steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and the formation of hepatic adenomas and carcinomas. Currently, little is known about the function of various organelles and their impact on metabolism in GSDIa. Accordingly, we investigated mitochondrial function in cell culture and mouse models of GSDIa. We found impairments in oxidative phosphorylation and changes in TCA cycle metabolites, as well as decreased mitochondrial membrane potential and deranged mitochondrial ultra-structure in these model systems. Mitochondrial content also was decreased, likely secondary to decreased mitochondrial biogenesis. These deleterious effects culminated in the activation of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Taken together, our results demonstrate a role for mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of GSDIa, and identify a new potential target for the treatment of this disease. They also provide new insight into the role of carbohydrate overload on mitochondrial function in other hepatic diseases, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

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Published Version (Please cite this version)

10.1038/srep44408

Publication Info

Farah, Benjamin L, Rohit A Sinha, Yajun Wu, Brijesh K Singh, Andrea Lim, Masahiro Hirayama, Dustin J Landau, Boon Huat Bay, et al. (2017). Hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction is a feature of Glycogen Storage Disease Type Ia (GSDIa). Scientific reports, 7(1). p. 44408. 10.1038/srep44408 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/27490.

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Scholars@Duke

Koeberl

Dwight D. Koeberl

Professor of Pediatrics

As a physician-scientist practicing clinical and biochemical genetics, I am highly motivated to seek improved therapy for my patients with inherited disorders of metabolism. The focus of our research has been the development of gene therapy with adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors, most recently by genome editing with CRISPR/Cas9. We have developed gene therapy for inherited disorders of metabolism, especially glycogen storage disease (GSD) and phenylketonuria (PKU). 
1) GSD Ia: Glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) deficient animals provide models for developing new therapy for GSD Ia, although early mortality complicates research with both the murine and canine models of GSD Ia. We have prolonged the survival and reversed the biochemical abnormalities in G6Pase-knockout mice and dogs with GSD type Ia, following the administration of AAV8-pseudotyped AAV vectors encoding human G6Pase. More recently, we have performed genome editing to integrate a therapeutic transgene in a safe harbor locus for mice with GSD Ia, permanently correcting G6Pase deficiency in the GSD Ia liver. Finally, we have identified reduced autophagy as an underlying hepatocellular defect that might be treated with pro-autophagic drugs in GSD Ia.
2) GSD II/Pompe disease: Pompe disease is caused by the deficiency of acid-alpha-glucosidase (GAA) in muscle, resulting in the massive accumulation of lysosomal glycogen in striated muscle with accompanying weakness. While enzyme replacement has shown promise in infantile-onset Pompe disease patients, no curative therapy is available. We demonstrated that AAV vector-mediated gene therapy will likely overcome limitations of enzyme replacement therapy, including formation of anti-GAA antibodies and the need for frequent infusions. We demonstrated that liver-restricted expression with an AAV vector prevented antibody responses in GAA-knockout mice by inducing immune tolerance to human GAA. Antibody responses have complicated enzyme replacement therapy for Pompe disease and emphasized a potential advantage of gene therapy for this disorder. The strategy of administering low-dose gene therapy prior to initiation of enzyme replacement therapy, termed immunomodulatory gene therapy, prevented antibody formation and increased efficacy in Pompe disease mice. We are currently conducting a Phase I clinical trial of immunomodulatory gene therapy in adult patients with Pompe disease. Furthermore, we have developed drug therapy to increase the receptor-mediated uptake of GAA in muscle cells, which provides adjunctive therapy to more definitively treat Pompe disease.
3) PKU: In collaboration with researchers at OHSU, we performed an early gene therapy experiment that demonstrated long-term biochemical correction of PKU in mice with an AAV8 vector. PKU is a very significant disorder detected by newborn screening and currently inadequately treated by dietary therapy. Phenylalanine levels in mice were corrected in the blood, and elevated phenylalanine causes mental retardation and birth defects in children born to affected women, and gene therapy for PKU would address an unmet need for therapy in this disorder.

Currently we are developing methods for genome editing that will stably correct the enzyme  deficiency in GSD Ia and in Pompe disease.  Our long-term goal is to develop efficacious genome editing for glycogen storage diseases, which will allow us to treat these conditions early in life with long-term benefits. 

Yen

Paul Michael Yen

Professor of Medicine

Paul M. Yen currently is Professor at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore and Head of the Laboratory of Hormonal Regulation in the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders Program. He also is Professor of Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC and a member of the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute. He received his B.A. in Chemistry from Amherst College and his M.D. from Johns Hopkins. He completed his residency in internal medicine at University of Chicago and fellowship in endocrinology at National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. He was formerly Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, Chief of the Neuro-endocrinology and Molecular Regulation Section of the Clinical Endocrinology Branch at NIDDK (at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD), and Associate Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He has served on the editorial boards of Endocrinology, Molecular Endocrinology, and Thyroid. He also is a U.S. board-certified physician in internal medicine and endocrinology. He is listed as a top 2% scientist worldwide by Stanford University and a leading World Expert on thyroid hormone by Expertscape. He has served as an Asia-Oceanic Thyroid Association (AOTA) Council Member and the AOTA delegate to the World Thyroid Foundation and Singapore Representative to the International Iodine Global Network. He was awarded the 2020 Nagataki-Fujifilm Prize for his contributions to basic and clinical thyroid hormone research in Asia by AOTA. At Duke-NUS, he has served as Master of Sheares Medical College since 2010. He also has served as the clinical faculty advisor for the Duke Overseas Volunteer Expedition (DOVE) program in which medical students deliver primary care in neighbouring underdeveloped countries since its inception in 2010.. His laboratory uses molecular biological and genomic approaches to study hormonal regulation of transcription, autophagy, and metabolism as well as searching for ways to improve the diagnosis and treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).




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