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. 2011:1:29-36.
doi: 10.1007/8904_2011_12. Epub 2011 Jun 22.

Lymphoblastoid cell lines for diagnosis of peroxisome biogenesis disorders

Affiliations

Lymphoblastoid cell lines for diagnosis of peroxisome biogenesis disorders

Sabine Grønborg et al. JIMD Rep. 2011.

Abstract

Peroxisome biogenesis disorders (PBDs) are a group of autosomal-recessive developmental and progressive metabolic diseases leading to the Zellweger spectrum (ZS) phenotype in most instances. Diagnosis of clinically suspected cases can be difficult because of extensive genetic heterogeneity and large spectrum of disease severity. Furthermore, a second group of peroxisomal diseases caused by deficiencies of single peroxisomal enzymes can show an indistinguishable clinical phenotype. The diagnosis of these peroxisomal disorders relies on the clinical presentation, the biochemical parameters in plasma and erythrocyte membranes, and genetic testing as the final step. Analysis of patients' cells is frequently required during the diagnostic process, e.g., for complementation analysis to identify the affected gene before sequencing. In the cases with unclear clinical or biochemical presentation, patients' cells are analyzed to prove PBD or to demonstrate biochemical abnormalities that might be elusive in plasma. Cell lines from skin fibroblast that are usually generated for diagnostic workup are not available in all instances, mainly because the required skin biopsy is invasive and sometimes denied by parents. An alternative cellular system has not been analyzed sufficiently. In this study, we evaluated the alternative use of lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs), derived from a peripheral blood sample, in the diagnostic process for PBD. LCLs were suitable for immunofluorescence visualization of peroxisomal enzymes, complementation analysis, and the biochemical analysis to differentiate between control and PBD LCL. LCLs are therefore an easily obtainable alternative cellular system for a detailed PBD diagnostic workup with a reliability of diagnostic results equal to those of skin fibroblasts.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Immunofluorescence staining of peroxisomal markers. LCL from a control person (left), a patient with D-bifunctional protein deficiency (DBPD, middle), and a patient with PBD (PBD1, right) were stained against the peroxisomal membrane protein PEX14 (top) and the peroxisomal matrix protein catalase (bottom) individually, using indirect immunofluorescence staining. PEX14 staining results in a punctate, peroxisomal staining pattern in all three cell lines, whereas catalase staining reveals a cytoplasmic distribution of the protein in the cell line with deficiency of peroxisome biogenesis only
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Complementation of the peroxisome biogenesis defect. LCLs were transfected with a myc-tagged reporter construct for peroxisomal matrix protein import, mycPECI (Δ3, Δ2-enoyl-CoA-isomerase) (ad) in addition to a vector expressing human PEX6 cDNA (b) or empty vector (a). Immunofluorescence staining visualizes the distribution of mycPECI in green (left column) and the peroxisomal membrane protein PEX14 in red (middle column). The right column shows the merged pictures to determine colocalization of the markers resulting in yellow color. Cells from a patient with PBD (PBD1) do not import mycPECI into peroxisomes resulting in a diffuse cytosolic distribution of the protein (a). After cotransfection of PBD1 cells with a vector expressing human PEX6 cDNA, mycPECI is imported into peroxisomes resulting in a punctate staining pattern of the protein and colocalization with PEX14 (b), confirming PEX6 as the mutated gene in this cell line. Panels (c) and (d) show colocalization of peroxisomal matrix protein mycPECI and membrane protein PEX14 in LCLs from a patient with D-bifunctional protein deficiency and a control person

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