Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0019209 (hepatomegaly)
 5,798 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Cholesterol metabolism has been investigated in a strain of BALB/C mice that carry an autosomal recessive mutation associated with decreased sphingomyelinase and glucocerebrosidase activity and storage of sphingomyelin and glucocerebroside as well as cholesterol in lysosomes (Pentchev, P. G., Gal, A. E., Boothe, A. D., Omodeo-Sale, F., Fouks, J., Neumeyer, B. A., Quirk, J. M., Dawson, G., and Brady, R. O. (1980) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 619, 669-679). When affected animals are placed on a diet high in cholesterol, they develop hepatomegaly associated with an extensive accumulation of unesterified cholesterol in the liver. Cultured skin fibroblasts derived from these mice also manifest a defect in cholesterol esterification although the uptake and intracellular location of exogenous cholesterol is comparable to that of controls. Microsomal fatty acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase activity was normal or elevated in extracts of tissues from the affected animals. Furthermore, the subcellular distribution and membrane orientation of acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase appeared normal in microsomal preparations isolated from affected mice. The blockage of esterification of exogenous cholesterol in the presence of normal transferase activity is suggestive of a defect in a component involved in the intracellular disposition of this sterol. The attenuation in tissue levels of sphingomyelinase and glucocerebrosidase and the accumulation of sphingolipids may reflect alterations in lysosomal function resulting from an imbalance of unesterified cholesterol in these organelles.
 ...
PMID:A genetic storage disorder in BALB/C mice with a metabolic block in esterification of exogenous cholesterol. 632 48

Classical galactosaemia is relatively common in Ireland due to a high carrier rate of the Q188R GALT mutation. It is screened for using a bacterial inhibition assay (BIA) for free galactose. A Beutler assay on day one of life is performed only in high risk cases (infants of the Traveller community and relatives of known cases). A 16-month-old Irish-born boy of Nigerian origin was referred for investigation of developmental delay, and failure to thrive. He had oral aversion to solids and his diet consisted of cow's milk and milk-based cereal mixes. He was found to have microcephaly, weight <2nd percentile, hepatomegaly and bilateral cataracts. Coagulation screen was normal and transaminases were slightly elevated. His original newborn screen was reviewed and confirmed to have been negative; urinary reducing substances on three separate occasions were negative. Beutler assay demonstrated "absent" red cell galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase (GALT) activity. GALT enzyme activity was <0.5 gsubs/h per gHb confirming classical galactosaemia. Gal-1-P was elevated at 1.88 micromol/gHb. Mutation analysis of the GALT gene revealed S135L homozygosity. S135L/S135L galactosaemia is associated with absent red cell GALT activity but with approximately 10% activity in other tissues such as the liver and intestines, probably explaining the negative screening tests and the somewhat milder phenotype associated with this genotype. The patient was commenced on galactose-restricted diet; on follow-up at 2 years of age, growth had normalized but there was global developmental delay. In conclusion, galactosaemia must be considered in children who present with poor growth, hepatomegaly, developmental delay and cataracts and GALT enzyme analysis should be a first line test in such cases. Non-enzymatic screening methods such as urinary reducing substances and BIA for free galactose are not reliable in S135L homozygous galactosaemia.
 ...
PMID:Negative screening tests in classical galactosaemia caused by S135L homozygosity. 1941 41