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Lesch-Nyhan Disease and Its Variants: Phenotypic and Mutation Spectrum of Hypoxanthine-Guanine Phosphoribosyltransferase Deficiency in Argentine Patients

Abstract

Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) deficiency is a disorder of purine metabolism responsible for Lesch-Nyhan Disease (LND) and its variants, HPRT-related hyperuricemia with neurologic dysfunction (HND) and HPRT-related hyperuricemia (HRH). The objective of this study was to characterize a cohort of Argentine patients with HPRT deficiency diagnosed in a single center. Results: Twenty nine patients were studied, including 12 LND, 15 HND and 2 HRH. The average onset age was 0.64 years for LND with motor delay as the main manifestation, 8.84 years for HND and 2.5 years for HRH; nephrological manifestations predominated as presenting features in these variants. The average diagnosis age was 3.58 years for LND, 17.21 years for HND and 2.5 years for HRH. Clinical heterogeneity was more evident in HND, even in members of the same family. All patients presented hyperuricemia and no detectable HPRT activity in erythrocyte lysate. The molecular study allowed to identify 9 different mutations in HPRT1 gene from 24 patients (11 independent pedigrees) and to establish genotype-phenotype correlation. In conclusion, this study describes the genotypic/phenotypic spectrum of HPRT deficiency in Argentine patients and highlights the need to increase awareness about the suspicion of these diseases, especially the LND variants with high clinical heterogeneity.

Keywords
Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency; hyperuricemia; Lesch-Nyhan disease; Lesch-Nyhan variant; HPRT1 mutation

Introduction

Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT; EC 2.4.2.8) deficiency (MIM 308000) is an X-linked genetic defect of the purine salvage pathway whereby purine bases are recycled into nucleotides[11. Lesch M, Nyhan WL. A familial disorder of uric acid metabolism and central nervous system function. Am J Med. 1964;36:561-570. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(64)90104-4
https://doi.org/10.1016/0002-9343(64)901...
,22. Jinnah HA, Friedman T. Lesch-Nyhan disease and its variants. In: Scriver CR, Beaudet AL, Sly WS, Valle D, eds. The Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2001:2537-2570. ]. The HPRT enzyme catalyzes the transfer of the 5-phosphoribosyl group from 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate (PRPP) to a purine base hypoxanthine or guanine to form IMP or GMP, respectively. The metabolic consequence of HPRT deficiency is an increase of de novo purines synthesis, which leads to increased production of uric acid, causing a variety of renal and joint symptoms. HPRT deficiency causes also an increased in the concentration of hypoxanthine, which is not reused, and contributes to uric acid increases[22. Jinnah HA, Friedman T. Lesch-Nyhan disease and its variants. In: Scriver CR, Beaudet AL, Sly WS, Valle D, eds. The Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2001:2537-2570. ,33. Madeo A, Di Rocco M, Brassier A, Bahi-Buisson N, De Lonlay P, Ceballos-Picot I. Clinical, biochemical and genetic characteristics of a cohort of 101 French and Italian patients with HPRT deficiency. Mol Genet Metab. 2019;127(2):147-157. doi: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2019.06.001
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymgme.2019.06....
].

HPRT deficiency involves a large spectrum of neurological and behavioural abnormalities. Depending on the degree of the enzyme deficiency three main clinical phenotypes have been described: fully developed Lesch-Nyhan disease (LND) presenting severe neurologic dysfunction (self-injury, motor disability, gout, and renal problems); the intermediate phenotype designed HPRT-related hyperuricemia with neurologic dysfunction (HND); and HPRT-related hyperuricemia (HRH), associated with marked overproduction of uric acid, with resultant hyperuricemia, nephrolithiasis, and gout[22. Jinnah HA, Friedman T. Lesch-Nyhan disease and its variants. In: Scriver CR, Beaudet AL, Sly WS, Valle D, eds. The Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2001:2537-2570. ]. Affected individuals with the classical or variant forms show excessive production of uric acid that increases the risk for renal stones, renal failure, gouty arthritis, and tophi. Since the disease is inherited in an X-linked recessive manner, the most cases are males; however, several manifesting females have been reported[44. Fu R, Ceballos-Picot I, Torres RJ, et al. Genotype-phenotype correlations in neurogenetics: Lesch-Nyhan disease as a model disorder. Brain. 2014;137(Pt 5):1282-1303. doi: 10.1093/brain/awt202
https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awt202...
].

The HPRT enzyme is encoded by a single gene (HPRT1) that has nine exons spanning approximately 45 kb at Xq26-27[55. Becker MA, Yen RC, Itkin P, Goss SJ, Seegmiller JE, Bakay B. Regional localization of the gene for human phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase on the X chromosome. Science. 1979;203(4384):1016-1019. doi: 10.1126/science.218284
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.218284...
]. More than 600 different disease-causing gene variants have been reported for the HPRT1 gene (www.lesch-nyhan.org). Spread through nearly the whole gene are missense variants, nonsense variants, splicing variants, small and large coding and non-coding deletions or insertions, partial duplications, non-coding regulatory variants, and more complex changes[44. Fu R, Ceballos-Picot I, Torres RJ, et al. Genotype-phenotype correlations in neurogenetics: Lesch-Nyhan disease as a model disorder. Brain. 2014;137(Pt 5):1282-1303. doi: 10.1093/brain/awt202
https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awt202...
].

The mechanism of neurological and behavioural features of the disease is not clear, although the role of basal ganglia circuits and dopaminergic system have been demonstrated to be impaired[66. Visser JE, Bär PR, Jinnah HA. Lesch-Nyhan disease and the basal ganglia. Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 2000;32(2-3):449-475. doi: 10.1016/s0165-0173(99)00094-6
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0165-0173(99)00...
-88. Göttle M, Prudente CN, Fu R, et al. Loss of dopamine phenotype among midbrain neurons in Lesch-Nyhan disease. Ann Neurol. 2014;76(1):95-107. doi: 10.1002/ana.24191
https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.24191...
].

Treatment of HPRT deficiency comprises pharmacological therapy of hyperuricemia with administration of allopurinol for renal failure prevention. In addition, the treatment for LNS includes comprehensive medical management, dental management, physical therapy, behavioural, and psychiatric interventions. Behaviour and psychiatry management targets self-injury through the use of restraints, behavioural management, psychopharmacologic management, and deep brain stimulation[99. Harris JC. Lesch-Nyhan syndrome and its variants: examining the behavioral and neurocognitive phenotype. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2018;31(2):96-102. doi: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000388
https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.000000000000...
].

There are a few population studies that allow the prevalence of LND to be estimated:[33. Madeo A, Di Rocco M, Brassier A, Bahi-Buisson N, De Lonlay P, Ceballos-Picot I. Clinical, biochemical and genetic characteristics of a cohort of 101 French and Italian patients with HPRT deficiency. Mol Genet Metab. 2019;127(2):147-157. doi: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2019.06.001
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymgme.2019.06....
,1010. Ceballos-Picot I, Le Dantec A, Brassier A, et al. New biomarkers for early diagnosis of Lesch-Nyhan disease revealed by metabolic analysis on a large cohort of patients. Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2015;10:7. doi: 10.1186/s13023-014-0219-0
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13023-014-0219-...
-1616. Crawhall JC, Henderson JF, Kelley WN. Diagnosis and treatment of the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. Pediatr Res. 1972;6(5):504-513. doi: 10.1203/00006450-197205000-00004
https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-1972050...
] which is approximately 1:380,000[1717. Jinnah HA. HPRT1 Disorders. [Updated 2020 Aug 6]. In: Adam MP, Ardinger HH, Pagon RA, et al., eds. GeneReviews®. Seattle, WA: University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2020. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/nbk1149/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/nbk11...
]. Furthermore, due to the clinical heterogeneity of the patients (especially in the LND variants), the number of affected individuals is not well studied and may be underestimated. Patients with the classical phenotype (LND) rarely survive beyond the third decade; however, lifespan may be normal for Lesch-Nyhan variants without severe renal involvement[99. Harris JC. Lesch-Nyhan syndrome and its variants: examining the behavioral and neurocognitive phenotype. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2018;31(2):96-102. doi: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000388
https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.000000000000...
].

The present study describes a cohort of 29 Argentine patients with HPRT deficiency, including both LND and its attenuated variants, diagnosed in a single referral center (CEMECO, Children’s Hospital of Córdoba, Argentina).

Patients and Methods

We performed a retrospective, descriptive and comparative study in a cohort of Argentine patients with HPRT deficiency in CEMECO, Children's Hospital of the Santísima Trinidad de Córdoba, between 1996-2020. Informed consent was obtained from parents and, when possible, from patients.

This study included 29 Argentine male patients from 15 unrelated families who were diagnosed between 1996-2020. HPRT deficiency in probands was diagnosed on the basis of: a) suggestive clinical symptoms and signs; b) laboratory findings indicative of purine overproduction (serum uric acid levels and urine oxypurines; c) markedly reduced HPRT activity in haemolysates with simultaneously increased of adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) activity; and d) confirmed by HPRT1 gene mutation.

The patients were classified according to previously established subgroups: LND, HND and HRD and based on the presence or absence of different signs/symptoms[22. Jinnah HA, Friedman T. Lesch-Nyhan disease and its variants. In: Scriver CR, Beaudet AL, Sly WS, Valle D, eds. The Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2001:2537-2570. ]. Some cases have been described in previous studies (detailed in Results and Discussion). The data were obtained retrospectively from medical records of consultations with paediatric specialists in hereditary metabolic diseases or by referring physicians.

Blood and urine samples were collected from patients with clinical suspicion of HPRT deficiency to perform a metabolite study, enzyme activity and investigation of the genetic defect. The determination of purine metabolites (urine) and HPRT enzymatic assay (erythrocyte lysates) were performed by HPLC methods according to Simmonds et al, 1991[1818. Simmonds HA, Duley JA, Davies PM. Analysis of purines and pyrimidines in blood, urine and other physiological fluids. In: Hommes F, ed. Techniques in Diagnostic Human Biochemical Genetics: A Laboratory Manual. New York: Wiley-Liss; 1991:397-424.]. The molecular analysis of the HPRT gene mutations included amplification of the entire coding region of the HPRT mRNA by rt-PCR[1919. Laróvere LE, Romero N, Fairbanks LD, et al. A novel missense mutation, c.584A > C (Y195S), in two unrelated Argentine patients with hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl-transferase deficiency, neurological variant. Mol Genet Metab. 2004;81(4):352-354. doi: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2004.01.013
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymgme.2004.01....
] and genomic multiplex PCR, followed by direct sequencing of PCR products[2020. Jinnah HA, De Gregorio L, Harris JC, Nyhan WL, O’Neill JP. The spectrum of inherited mutations causing HPRT deficiency: 75 new cases and a review of 196 previously reported cases. Mutat Res. 2000;463(3):309-326. doi: 10.1016/s1383-5742(00)00052-1
https://doi.org/10.1016/s1383-5742(00)00...
,2121. Gibbs RA, Nguyen PN, Edwards A, Civitello AB, Caskey CT. Multiplex DNA deletion detection and exon sequencing of the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase gene in Lesch-Nyhan families. Genomics. 1990;7(2):235-244. doi: 10.1016/0888-7543(90)90545-6
https://doi.org/10.1016/0888-7543(90)905...
].

The t-test for independent samples from the Infostat program was used for comparison of onset age and diagnosis age between the groups.

Results and Discussion

This study represents the serial recognition of HPRT deficiency with classical phenotype of LND and its variants in Argentina. A total of 29 male patients from 15 unrelated families were identified. Demographic data is showed in Table 1. The phenotypic distribution was 41.4% (12/29) patients with LND, 51.7% (15/29) with HND the intermediate phenotype, and 6.9% (2/29) with HRH variant. The phenotypic distribution in this study is influenced by several members coming from the same family. There is the possibility that a large family with 10 patients results in bias of distribution.

Disease onset, age at diagnosis and first/main manifestations

The average age of onset of symptoms (Table 1) was 0.64 years (range 0.33-1 year) for LND patients, whose main manifestation was motor delay, while the onset of self-injury was present in 100% of the cases at the average age of 4.22 years (range 2-8 years), the most frequent self-injurious behaviours were biting fingers, tongue or lips. Other early symptoms present in the LND patients were the appearance in 9/12 cases of involuntary movements (dystonia and other abnormal movements) and abnormalities resembling cerebral palsy in 5/12. LND patients who had nephrological manifestations such as kidney stones and uric acid crystals were those diagnosed after three years of age. The degree of cognitive impairment was not evaluated in this group of patients.

In patients classified as variants (LNV), the age of onset of symptoms was 8.84 years (range 0.1-28 years) for HND and 2.5 years (range 1-4 years) for HRH. Nephrological manifestations predominated as presenting symptoms in 60% (9/15) and 100% (2/2) in HND and HRH, respectively; followed by joint disease 33% (5/15) and motor retardation 26.7% (4/15) in HND and without these types of manifestations in HRH. Regarding the clinical outcome and the appearance of new symptoms, 93.3 % (14/15) HND patients presented different degrees of cognitive impairment (even in the same family), one patient was a newborn without data about cognitive abnormalities; 66.6% (10/15) HND and 50% (1/2) HRH had nephrological manifestations; joint disease was present in 66.6% (10/15) cases HND, all older than 13 years and with a delay in diagnosis. Comparing the groups of patients, there was a significant difference (p <0.005) in the age of onset between LND and HND.

The average age of diagnosis in the groups was 3.58 years (range 0.5-10 years) for LND, 17.21 years (range 0.1-56 years) for HND and 2.5 years (range 1-4 years) for HRH. The diagnostic delay was significantly lower in LND than patients affected by HND (p <0.005), according to previous reports[33. Madeo A, Di Rocco M, Brassier A, Bahi-Buisson N, De Lonlay P, Ceballos-Picot I. Clinical, biochemical and genetic characteristics of a cohort of 101 French and Italian patients with HPRT deficiency. Mol Genet Metab. 2019;127(2):147-157. doi: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2019.06.001
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymgme.2019.06....
,2323. Sampat R, Fu R, Larovere LE, et al. Mechanisms for phenotypic variation in Lesch-Nyhan disease and its variants. Hum Genet. 2011;129(1):71-78. doi: 10.1007/s00439-010-0901-9
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00439-010-0901-...
]; this could be because the diagnosis of the classic form is more oriented due to self-injury symptoms.

Regarding family 13, it should be noted that these cases (n=10) have a different degree of kinship relationship with a common ancestor 5 generations ago (Figure 1). Some of them came to our center for consultation due to the appearance of different symptoms (Table 1) and only 2 did so prior to the appearance of clinical manifestations due to family history regarding the disease. The clinical heterogeneity observed in those affected in the family is very high, although all are classified as HND; the outcome and complications were strongly related to the age of diagnosis. The broad spectrum of clinical features in HND variant reported by Jinnah et al (2010)[2222. Jinnah HA, Ceballos-Picot I, Torres RJ, et al. Attenuated variants of Lesch-Nyhan disease. Brain. 2010;133(Pt 3):671-689. doi: 10.1093/brain/awq013
https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awq013...
] indicates, in addition to the overproduction of uric acid, different degrees of varying degrees of motor, cognitive, or behavioural abnormalities.

Figure 1.
Genealogy of families 13 and 14 with HPRT deficiency, carriers of same HPRT1 mutation: c.584A>C (p.Y195S). ■, affected male; □, unaffected male; , carrier female; , obligate carrier female; ?, status unknown; X, deceased subject. The code names are shown for the patients analysed in this study.

Metabolites, enzymatic activity and genotype

All patients had hyperuricemia (Table 1) with a mean value of 11.86 mg/dl (range 7.7-17); the urine purine study performed in 21/29 patients (pooled data) showed an increase of uric acid (range 1400-2300 μmol/mmol creatinine; normal values> 1300), hypoxanthine (range 55-778 μmol /mmol creatinine; normal values> 45) and xanthine (range 23-200 μmol/mmol creatinine; normal values> 43); these metabolites are indicative of HPRT deficiency[1818. Simmonds HA, Duley JA, Davies PM. Analysis of purines and pyrimidines in blood, urine and other physiological fluids. In: Hommes F, ed. Techniques in Diagnostic Human Biochemical Genetics: A Laboratory Manual. New York: Wiley-Liss; 1991:397-424.].

Table 1.
HPRT deficiency in Argentine patients: age of onset / diagnosis, uric acid in blood, enzymatic activity, main features and treatment.

The HPRT enzyme assay in erythrocyte lysate was performed in all the entire cohort of patients, with no activity detected in any of these cases (Table 1); these results were not correlated with the different phenotypes in which the patients were grouped. These differences could be observed using tests on intact red blood cells that detect a significant residual activity due to the fact that the cell structure remains intact, which does not occur in lysed cells[22. Jinnah HA, Friedman T. Lesch-Nyhan disease and its variants. In: Scriver CR, Beaudet AL, Sly WS, Valle D, eds. The Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2001:2537-2570. ,33. Madeo A, Di Rocco M, Brassier A, Bahi-Buisson N, De Lonlay P, Ceballos-Picot I. Clinical, biochemical and genetic characteristics of a cohort of 101 French and Italian patients with HPRT deficiency. Mol Genet Metab. 2019;127(2):147-157. doi: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2019.06.001
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymgme.2019.06....
]. Parallel to the HPRT activity, APRT enzyme assay was also performed, which was found to be elevated in all the cases (data not shown) as a compensatory mechanism in the increased purine nucleotide synthesis via the salvage pathway and increased availability of PRPP[2424. Torres RJ, Puig JG. Hypoxanthine-guanine phosophoribosyltransferase (HPRT) deficiency: Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2007;2:48. doi: 10.1186/1750-1172-2-48
https://doi.org/10.1186/1750-1172-2-48...
].

Nine different genetic variants in HPRT1 gene were identified from 24 patients with 11 independent pedigrees, all these changes were descripted previously (Table 2). Molecular analyses of 5 patients have not been performed. Variants were distributed throughout the gene, and included missense variants (44.4%, 4/9), splice site variants (33.3%, 3/9), a large deletion (11.1%, 1/9), and a duplication (11.1%, 1/9).

Table 2.

The molecular study was carried out on patients, their mothers and other female relatives (data not shown); molecular diagnosis in HPRT-deficient patients allows characterize the genetic variants and perform the detection of carrier women. Only patient 2 had a de novo variant (c.209G>A, G70E), that has been reported in several cases; therefore, this variant qualifies as a hotspot and is clearly a de novo germinal event[2525. Laróvere LE, O’Neill JP, Randall M, et al. Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency: biochemical and molecular findings in six Argentine patients. Nucleosides Nucleotides Nucleic Acids. 2007;26(3):255-258. doi: 10.1080/15257770701257269
https://doi.org/10.1080/1525777070125726...
]. It should be noted that patient 16 (family 12) had the same variant (c.143G>A p.R48H) as that identified in family 11 with a similar phenotype[2525. Laróvere LE, O’Neill JP, Randall M, et al. Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency: biochemical and molecular findings in six Argentine patients. Nucleosides Nucleotides Nucleic Acids. 2007;26(3):255-258. doi: 10.1080/15257770701257269
https://doi.org/10.1080/1525777070125726...
,2626. Sapag A, Frischling E, Laborde H. Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency in a patient with a Madrid II mutation. Joint Bone Spine. 2013;80(1):93-95. doi: 10.1016/j.jbspin.2012.06.020
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbspin.2012.06...
], without knowing any relationship between them; and the case 27 (family 14) had the same variant (c.584A>C, p.Y195S) as members of family 13 (Figure 1), no relationship could be established since the genealogical data of family 14 are not known.

In this family, with a large number of identified cases and the same genetic variant, there is great clinical heterogeneity as shown in Table 1. Yamada et al (2014) also reported phenotypic variability in 3 cases of affected siblings with the same HPRT1 mutation[2828. Yamada Y, Nomura N, Yamada K, et al. Hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) deficiencies: HPRT1 mutations in new Japanese families and PRPP concentration. Nucleosides Nucleotides Nucleic Acids. 2014;33(4-6):218-222. doi: 10.1080/15257770.2013.865743
https://doi.org/10.1080/15257770.2013.86...
].

A comparison of local genetic variants findings with a review article by Fu and colleagues[44. Fu R, Ceballos-Picot I, Torres RJ, et al. Genotype-phenotype correlations in neurogenetics: Lesch-Nyhan disease as a model disorder. Brain. 2014;137(Pt 5):1282-1303. doi: 10.1093/brain/awt202
https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awt202...
] and the web site http://lesch-nyhan.org/en/research/mutations-database, reveals that the majority of recurrent variants produced a similar phenotype even in unrelated patients. However, there were a few exceptions where the same variant caused discordant phenotypes. Respect to our data, the missense mutation c.143G>A has 12 reports associated with LNV, HND and HRH; c.209G>A with 8 reports in LND; and c.584A>C has only been described in our series of HND patients and it is the most frequent variant in our report (11/29). The only variant with discordant clinical phenotype was c.203T> C, described in 2 LND and 1 HND. The splicing variant c.485+5G>A was reported twice in LNV, c.532+1G>A with 4 reports in LND and c.609+6T>G described in 2 reports of LND. The splicing variants that result in exon exclusions are mostly associated with LND, however c.485+5G>A with exon 6 exclusion showed a mild phenotype. The exons 4-6 deletion with 3 reports was associated like all large deletions with a severe phenotype (LND). The 212dupG duplication was considered a hot spot for variants, it has arisen multiple times in unrelated patients (n= 15) with LND; this variant produces a frame shift and premature stop.

Another analysis is focused on the missense variants and their location in the HPRT1 gene, in which conserved regions associated with the active site of the enzyme were recognized;[44. Fu R, Ceballos-Picot I, Torres RJ, et al. Genotype-phenotype correlations in neurogenetics: Lesch-Nyhan disease as a model disorder. Brain. 2014;137(Pt 5):1282-1303. doi: 10.1093/brain/awt202
https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awt202...
] the four variants identified in our patients occurred in 3 of the 5 recognized "hot clusters". Furthermore, the c.203T> C (p.L68P) and c.209G> A (p.G70E) mutations identified in patients with LND are located in highly conserved amino acids of the HGprt protein with importance for the active site[44. Fu R, Ceballos-Picot I, Torres RJ, et al. Genotype-phenotype correlations in neurogenetics: Lesch-Nyhan disease as a model disorder. Brain. 2014;137(Pt 5):1282-1303. doi: 10.1093/brain/awt202
https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awt202...
].

Treatment and other remarks

Although this work is not focused on the treatment and outcomes of patients, it is important to remark that allopurinol is widely used to treat renal and joint disease, this medication is also used by our patients for this purpose (Table 1). The management or treatment of neurological involvement and behavioural abnormalities varies. However, some therapies were associated to an improvement of at least some manifestations of the disease. The therapies include benzodiazepines, anxiolytics/hypnotics, antidepressants, antipsychotics and muscle relaxants[33. Madeo A, Di Rocco M, Brassier A, Bahi-Buisson N, De Lonlay P, Ceballos-Picot I. Clinical, biochemical and genetic characteristics of a cohort of 101 French and Italian patients with HPRT deficiency. Mol Genet Metab. 2019;127(2):147-157. doi: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2019.06.001
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymgme.2019.06....
]. One of the cohort used S-adenosylmethionine without showing noticeable changes in mood and behaviour improvement. There are no data on the evolution of most of the patients, according to records of those who are followed up in our hospital, 3 have died (2 LND, 1 HND), 2 HND are on dialysis and 1 was HND had a kidney transplant.

Conclusions

This report describes the main clinical features, and biochemical and molecular genetic findings in a cohort of 29 Argentine patients with HPRT deficiency diagnosed in a single center. According to the clinical presentation the patients were classified as LND, HND and HRH. The result of HPRT enzyme activity in erythrocyte lysates could not be correlated with the different phenotypes. However, the identification of mutations allowed genotype-phenotype correlation in most patients and the detection of carrier women.

The main limitation of this study was the data collection method; the clinical characteristics of the patient series were retrospectively analysed with missing data in some cases and based on evaluations made by different physicians. The clinical data are of great importance for the classification and its follow-up, it is necessary to carry out a complete clinical evaluation including renal and joint manifestations, neurological dysfunction and behavioural disorders.

It is important to raise awareness about this disease in the classic form of LND and its variants. Males with developmental delay, neurological and behavioural problems, and hyperuricemia could be affected by HPRT deficiency with severe phenotype; the association of juvenile gout, hyperuricemia and elevated urinary uric acid excretion with or without neurological compromise suggests an attenuated variant. An early diagnosis allows establishing treatment with allopurinol, thus avoiding the development of gouty manifestations and renal failure.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. Patrick O’Neill for verifying the mutations in some patients. They also thank colleagues who referred cases.

References

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  • Funding

    The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was supported by grants from Secretaría de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina.

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    17 Mar 2021
  • Date of issue
    2021

History

  • Received
    30 Nov 2020
  • Reviewed
    02 Feb 2021
  • Accepted
    09 Feb 2021
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