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Lysosomal storage diseases

The nine diseases from FMK-04.5, every direction at once: symptoms → gene, gene → disease, enzyme → substrate, histology → disease… Pick what you're given and what you have to name, or let it cycle through every combination. Each answer shows the whole card.

Sphingolipidosis 5

DiseaseGeneEnzymeAccumulatesInheritanceFindingsHistology / hallmarkTreatment
Tay-Sachs disease
~6 months; death by 3–5 years
Cherry-red spot without organomegaly separates it from Niemann-Pick. Ashkenazi carrier screening.
HEXA Hexosaminidase A GM2 ganglioside (in neurons of brain and spinal cord) Autosomal recessive
  • Progressive weakness → paralysis
  • Seizures
  • Cherry-red spot on the macula
  • NO hepatosplenomegaly
  • No contractures
  • Developmental regression
Neurons distended with lysosomal GM2 (no visceral storage cells) Supportive only
Fabry disease
Early childhood in males; heterozygous females can be affected
The only X-linked sphingolipidosis. Lecture: cardiovascular disease is the top cause of death in both sexes.
GLA α-Galactosidase A Ceramide trihexoside (globotriaosylceramide, Gb3) X-linked
  • Acroparesthesias (burning pain in hands and feet)
  • Angiokeratomas
  • Anhidrosis with heat/cold intolerance
  • Whorl keratopathy (vision unaffected)
  • Renal failure
  • Strokes
  • Cardiovascular disease — LVH, mitral valve prolapse, arrhythmia; most common cause of death
Lamellar (zebra-body) inclusions in endothelium, podocytes and cardiomyocytes Enzyme replacement (agalsidase); renal and cardiac care
Gaucher disease
Any age; type 1 (non-neuronopathic) most common
Most common lysosomal storage disease. GBA carriers have an increased risk of Parkinson-like tremor in their 50s–60s.
GBA Glucocerebrosidase (β-glucosidase) Glucocerebroside (glucosylceramide) Autosomal recessive
  • Hepatosplenomegaly
  • Thrombocytopenia (easy bruising) and anemia
  • Fatigue
  • Osteopenia, bone crises, avascular necrosis
  • Neurologic degeneration (types 2/3)
Gaucher cells — macrophages with 'crumpled/wrinkled tissue-paper' cytoplasm, nucleus pushed to the edge (bone marrow biopsy) Enzyme replacement (imiglucerase); substrate reduction
Krabbe disease
Infantile, first 6 months; death by ~2 years
A leukodystrophy: myelin, not neurons, is the target.
GALC Galactocerebrosidase (galactocerebroside β-galactosidase) Galactocerebroside (and psychosine) — in myelin Autosomal recessive
  • Failure to thrive
  • Irritability, restlessness
  • Fevers without infection
  • Optic atrophy → blindness; deafness
  • Seizures
  • Loss of milestones, decerebrate posturing
  • Peripheral neuropathy
Globoid cells — large multinucleated macrophages in white matter (brain) Hematopoietic stem-cell transplant if pre-symptomatic; otherwise supportive
Niemann-Pick disease type C
Any age; adult onset most common for type C
Cherry-red spot WITH hepatosplenomegaly (vs Tay-Sachs). Foam cells (vs Gaucher's tissue-paper cells). Note the lecture attributes sphingomyelinase to NPC; the acid-sphingomyelinase disease is Niemann-Pick A/B (SMPD1).
NPC1 (95%) or NPC2 (5%) Sphingomyelinase (per lecture) — NPC1/NPC2 are intracellular cholesterol-transport proteins Sphingomyelin (and unesterified cholesterol) in lysosomes Autosomal recessive
  • Vertical supranuclear gaze palsy
  • Ataxia, dystonia, dysphagia
  • Cognitive or motor developmental delay
  • Cherry-red spot on the macula
  • Hepatosplenomegaly
Foam cells — lipid-laden macrophages with small round nuclei and clear vacuoles (bone marrow) Miglustat (substrate reduction); supportive

Mucopolysaccharidosis 2

DiseaseGeneEnzymeAccumulatesInheritanceFindingsHistology / hallmarkTreatment
Hurler syndrome (MPS I)
Normal at birth; features emerge over the first 1–3 years
Severity spectrum: Hurler (0% enzyme) → Hurler-Scheie (~5%) → Scheie (~10%, no cognitive delay).
IDUA (written 'IUDA' in the lecture) α-L-Iduronidase Dermatan sulfate and heparan sulfate (GAGs) Autosomal recessive
  • Coarse facial features that worsen with age (flat face, wide upturned nostrils, thick lips, large tongue, large head)
  • Corneal clouding (ground-glass), glaucoma
  • Claw hand, finger contractures, joint stiffness
  • Gibbus deformity, hip dysplasia, abnormal clavicles
  • Hydrocephalus
  • Chronic rhinitis / otitis media
  • Progressive developmental delay
  • Cardiomyopathy — most common cause of death
  • Growth retardation
Urine positive for dermatan and heparan sulfate; vacuolated ('gargoyle') cells Enzyme replacement (laronidase / Aldurazyme — does not cross the BBB); HSCT
Hunter syndrome (MPS II)
Presents at 2–4 years; males (female carriers usually asymptomatic)
X-linked and no corneal clouding are the two discriminators from Hurler. Only ~20% enzyme activity is needed to be symptom-free.
IDS Iduronate-2-sulfatase Dermatan sulfate and heparan sulfate (GAGs) X-linked
  • Milder Hurler-like features
  • NO corneal clouding
  • Aggressive behaviour
  • Hearing impairment
  • Nodular skin lesions ('pebbling')
  • Thickened heart wall
  • Vision loss from optic-nerve pressure
  • Progressive developmental delay
Urine positive for dermatan and heparan sulfate Enzyme replacement (idursulfase / Elaprase — does not cross the BBB)

Glycogen storage (lysosomal) 1

DiseaseGeneEnzymeAccumulatesInheritanceFindingsHistology / hallmarkTreatment
Pompe disease (GSD II)
Infantile-onset: death by ~10 months untreated. Late-onset: slower, spares the heart, limb-girdle/respiratory weakness
The only glycogen storage disease that is lysosomal. Diagnose by GAA activity on a dried blood spot or biallelic GAA variants.
GAA Acid α-glucosidase (acid maltase) Glycogen inside lysosomes of cardiac, skeletal and smooth muscle Autosomal recessive
  • Hypotonia, head lag, 'floppy infant'
  • Cardiomegaly (92% by 4 months) and cardiomyopathy
  • Macroglossia
  • Feeding and swallowing difficulty, failure to thrive
  • Moderate hepatomegaly
  • Respiratory infections, sleep apnoea
  • Elevated CK
PAS-positive glycogen-filled lysosomes that rupture and replace myofibrils; normal cytosolic glycogen metabolism Enzyme replacement (alglucosidase alfa / Myozyme) slows progression; supportive cardiac/respiratory care

Mucolipidosis (trafficking defect) 1

DiseaseGeneEnzymeAccumulatesInheritanceFindingsHistology / hallmarkTreatment
I-cell disease (mucolipidosis II)
Infancy
Not an enzyme deficiency but a targeting failure: no M6P tag → no delivery to the lysosome.
GNPTAB N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphotransferase (adds the mannose-6-phosphate tag in the Golgi) Everything — lysosomal enzymes are secreted into plasma instead of reaching the lysosome, so many substrates accumulate Autosomal recessive
  • Coarse facial features
  • Skeletal deformities and restricted joints
  • Corneal clouding
  • Organomegaly
  • Developmental delay
  • Very high plasma lysosomal enzyme levels
  • Often fatal in childhood
Inclusion bodies in fibroblasts; lysosomal enzymes high in plasma, low in cells Supportive only

Source: FMK-04.5 Protein targeting & lysosomal disorders. Gene spelling and the NPC enzyme follow the lecture, with the textbook version noted.

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