Biomedical subjects

Christer Möller

Publications and source records attributed to Christer Möller.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Variations in porphobilinogen and 5-aminolevulinic acid concentrations in plasma and urine from asymptomatic carriers of the acute intermittent porphyria gene with increased porphyrin precursor excretion.

BACKGROUND: The heme precursors porphobilinogen (PBG) and 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) accumulate during overt crises of acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), and high excretion of these metabolites often continues in the asymptomatic phase. METHODS: We measured concentrations of PBG and ALA and investigated the correlation between these metabolites in plasma and urine in 10 asymptomatic AIP carriers with high excretion and in 5 healthy individuals. We quantified plasma concentrations with an HPLC-mass spectrometric method and urine concentrations with ion-exchange chromatography. RESULTS: The mean (SD) plasma concentrations of PBG and ALA in the AIP carriers were 3.1 (1.0) and 1.7 (0.7) micromol/L, respectively. The mean 8-h urinary excretion amounts of PBG and ALA in the AIP carriers were 102 (25) and 56 (18) micromol, respectively, whereas the corresponding values for healthy individuals were 2.9 (0.7) and 9.3 (1.2) micromol. The correlations between PBG and ALA values in plasma and urine of the AIP carriers were 0.678 and 0.856, respectively. The mean PBG/ALA ratio was approximately 2.0 in both plasma and urine for the AIP carriers and 0.3 in urine for the healthy individuals. The renal clearance rates for PBG and ALA were 71 (15) and 70 (13) mL/min, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The described HPLC-mass spectrometric method enabled characterization of variations in plasma PBG and ALA in AIP carriers during an 8-h period. The renal clearances were similar for both metabolites. This method could be used to monitor AIP patients during treatment.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Enzyme replacement improves nervous system pathology and function in a mouse model for metachromatic leukodystrophy.

A deficiency of arylsulfatase A (ASA) causes the lysosomal storage disease metachromatic leukodystrophy, which is characterized by accumulation of the sphingolipid 3-O-sulfogalactosylceramide (sulfatide). Sphingolipid storage results in progressive demyelination and severe neurologic symptoms. The disease is lethal, and curative therapy is not available. To assess the therapeutic potential of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), ASA knockout mice were treated by intravenous injection of recombinant human ASA. Plasma levels of ASA declined with a half-time of approximately 40 min, and enzyme was detectable in tissues within minutes after injection. The uptake of injected enzyme was high into liver, moderate into peripheral nervous system (PNS) and kidney and very low into brain. The apparent half-life of endocytosed enzyme was approximately 4 days. A single injection led to a time- and dose-dependent decline of the excess sulfatide in PNS and kidney by up to 70%, but no reduction was seen in brain. Four weekly injections with 20 mg/kg body weight not only reduced storage in peripheral tissues progressively, but also were surprisingly effective in reducing sulfatide storage in brain and spinal cord. The histopathology of kidney and central nervous system was ameliorated. Improved neuromotor coordination capabilities and normalized peripheral compound motor action potential demonstrate the benefits of ERT on the nervous system function. Enzyme replacement may therefore be a promising therapeutic option in this devastating disease.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Non-viral delivery of the porphobilinogen deaminase cDNA into a mouse model of acute intermittent porphyria.

Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), an inborn error of metabolism, results from the deficient activity of the third enzyme in the heme biosynthetic pathway, porphobilinogen deaminase (PBGD). Clinical symptoms of this autosomal dominant hepatic porphyria include episodic acute attacks of abdominal pain, neuropathy, and psychiatric disturbances. Current therapy based on intravenous heme administration is palliative and there is no way to prevent the attacks. Thus, efforts are focused on methods to replace the deficient activity in the liver to prevent the acute attacks of this hepatic porphyria. Here we explore the efficiency of a non-viral gene delivery to obtain PBGD expression in the liver of AIP transgenic mice. Four vectors were evaluated: naked DNA and DNA complexed to liposomes, polyethylenimine (PEI), and PEI-galactose, using a luciferase construct as reporter gene. The vectors were administered intravenously or directly into the portal vein with transient blood flow blockage. After tail vein injection of the DNA complexes, the liposome vector had the highest luciferase expression in lung and less in liver. When injected into the portal vein, the naked DNA had considerably higher hepatic reporter gene expression; 100 microg of naked DNA had the highest hepatic luciferase expression 24h after portal vein injection. When these vectors were used to deliver the PBGD gene into the AIP mouse model no enhancement of the endogenous PBGD activity in liver was detectable, despite the presence of the PBGD-plasmids as verified by PCR. Thus, more efficient non-viral vectors are needed to express sufficient PBGD activity over the endogenous hepatic level (approximately 30% of normal) in this murine system.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Adenoviral-mediated expression of porphobilinogen deaminase in liver restores the metabolic defect in a mouse model of acute intermittent porphyria.

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of gene therapy in the treatment of acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), a disorder caused by a partial deficiency of porphobilinogen deaminase (PBGD), the third enzyme in heme synthesis. The condition is biochemically characterized by accumulation of the porphyrin precursors 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and porphobilinogen (PBG). Here we present the first experiments in vivo using adenoviral vectors to replace the deficient enzyme in the liver of an AIP mouse model. The use of adenoviral vector carrying the cDNA of luciferase in wild-type mice confirmed that transgene expression after intravenous administration was found mainly in liver. When PBGD-deficient mice were administered with adenoviral vector carrying the cDNA of mouse PBGD, the hepatic PBGD activity increased in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The highest activity was found 7 days after injection and remained high after 29 days. The expressed enzyme was shown to correct the metabolic defect in the PBGD-deficient mice as no accumulation of ALA or PBG occurred in plasma, liver, or kidney after induction of heme synthesis by phenobarbital. The study demonstrates that hepatic PBGD expression prevents the accumulation of porphyrin precursors, suggesting a future potential for gene therapy in AIP.

Adenoviridae↗

PubMed2003

Correction of the biochemical defect in porphobilinogen deaminase deficient cells by non-viral gene delivery.

Porphobilinogen deaminase (PBGD), the third enzyme in the biosynthesis of heme, is deficient in acute intermittent porphyria (AIP). AIP is a genetic disease characterized by neurovisceral and psychiatric disturbances. Despite a palliative treatment, it may still be lethal. An initial step towards gene therapy was recently taken by showing that PBGD could be expressed to correct the enzyme deficiency in AIP fibroblasts. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the biochemical defect can be corrected by using non-viral gene delivery. The biochemical defect in human and mouse PBGD deficient fibroblasts was demonstrated by analyzing synthesis of the heme precursor, protoporphyrin (PP), after addition of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA). Human AIP fibroblasts synthesized 21% and mouse PBGD deficient fibroblasts only 11% of the PP amount synthesized in respective control cells. Gene delivery increased the PBGD activity 88-200 fold in human AIP fibroblasts and synthesis of PP was increased from 21-152% of normal after ALA incubation. Similar results were obtained in mouse PBGD deficient cells, although the PP levels were several-fold lower as compared to human cells. HPLC analysis confirmed that PP was the main porphyrin intermediate that was formed. Addition of porphobilinogen (PBG) resulted in 3-7 fold lower synthesis of PP as compared to ALA addition. These results show that non-viral gene delivery of plasmids encoding PBGD results in a high expression of functional PBGD shown by induced synthesis of PP in PBGD deficient cells after supplementation of ALA and PBG.

Aminolevulinic Acid↗

PubMed2002

Glucagon and GLP-1 stimulate IGFBP-1 secretion in Hep G2 cells without effect on IGFBP-1 mRNA.

Glucagon has previously been reported to increase serum levels of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) in humans. The in vitro effect of glucagon and glucagon-like peptide-1 (7-36) amide (GLP-1) was investigated in Hep G2 human hepatoma cells. The expression of IGFBP-1 mRNA was determined by solution hybridization assay and IGFBP-1 secretion was measured by radioimmunoassay. In contrast to forskolin the peptides glucagon and GLP-1 had no effect on IGFBP-1 mRNA at 3, 6 and 24 h incubation or any detectable effect on the apparent half-life of IGFBP-1 mRNA. However, the exposure to glucagon (10 microg/mL, 2.87 microM) and GLP-1 (1 microM) caused a two-fold stimulation in protein levels of IGFBP-1 after 6 h incubation, declining to control levels after 24 h. This transient effect was dose dependent, remained when transcription was inhibited and required protein synthesis. The regulation of IGFBP-1 secretion by glucagon and GLP-1 appeared to be cAMP independent. In conclusion, glucagon and GPL-1 were shown to have a post-transcriptional stimulatory effect on IGFBP-1 release.

Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Biochemical characterization of porphobilinogen deaminase-deficient mice during phenobarbital induction of heme synthesis and the effect of enzyme replacement.

Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) is a genetic disorder caused by a deficiency of porphobilinogen deaminase (PBGD), the 3rd enzyme in heme synthesis. It is clinically characterized by acute attacks of neuropsychiatric symptoms and biochemically by increased urinary excretion of the porphyrin precursors porphobilinogen (PBG) and 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA). A mouse model that is partially deficient in PBGD and biochemically mimics AIP after induction of the hepatic ALA synthase by phenobarbital was used in this study to identify the site of formation of the presumably toxic porphyrin precursors and study the effect of enzyme-replacement therapy by using recombinant human PBGD (rhPBGD). After 4 d of phenobarbital administration, high levels of PBG and ALA were found in liver, kidney, plasma, and urine of the PBGD-deficient mice. The administration of rhPBGD intravenously or subcutaneously after a 4-d phenobarbital induction was shown to lower the PBG level in plasma in a dose-dependent manner with maximal effect seen after 30 min and 2 h, respectively. Injection of rhPBGD subcutaneously twice daily during a 4-d phenobarbital induction reduced urinary PBG excretion to 25% of the levels found in PBGD-deficient mice administered with only phenobarbital. This study points to the liver as the main producer of PBG and ALA in the phenobarbital-induced PBGD-deficient mice and demonstrates efficient removal of accumulated PBG in plasma and urine by enzyme-replacement therapy.

Aminolevulinic Acid↗