AICA-ribosiduria: a novel, neurologically devastating inborn error of purine biosynthesis caused by mutation of ATIC.

Sandrine Marie, Benedicte Heron, Pierre Bitoun, Therese Timmerman, Georges Van Den Berghe, Marie-Francoise Vincent

Laboratory of Physiological Chemistry, Christian de Duve Institute of Cellular Pathology and Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Universite Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.

American journal of human genetics 2004 Jun

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In a female infant with dysmorphic features, severe neurological defects, and congenital blindness, a positive urinary Bratton-Marshall test led to identification of a massive excretion of 5-amino-4-imidazolecarboxamide (AICA)-riboside, the dephosphorylated counterpart of AICAR (also termed "ZMP"), an intermediate of de novo purine biosynthesis. ZMP and its di- and triphosphate accumulated in the patient's erythrocytes. Incubation of her fibroblasts with AICA-riboside led to accumulation of AICAR, not observed in control cells, suggesting impairment of the final steps of purine biosynthesis, catalyzed by the bifunctional enzyme AICAR transformylase/IMP cyclohydrolase (ATIC). AICAR transformylase was profoundly deficient, whereas the IMP cyclohydrolase level was 40% of normal. Sequencing of ATIC showed a K426R change in the transformylase region in one allele and a frameshift in the other. Recombinant protein carrying mutation K426R completely lacks AICAR transformylase activity.

Citation

Sandrine Marie, Benedicte Heron, Pierre Bitoun, Therese Timmerman, Georges Van Den Berghe, Marie-Francoise Vincent. AICA-ribosiduria: a novel, neurologically devastating inborn error of purine biosynthesis caused by mutation of ATIC. American journal of human genetics. 2004 Jun;74(6):1276-81