Phenylalanine hydroxylase genotype-phenotype associations in the United States: A single center study

Abstract

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive inborn error of metabolism caused by pathogenic variants in the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene (PAH). The correlation between genotype and phenotype can be complex and sometimes variable but often very useful for categorizing and predicting dietary tolerance and potential outcome. We reviewed medical records for 367 patients diagnosed with PKU or persistent mild hyperphenylalaninemia (MHP) between 1950 and 2015 who had PAH genotyping. In 351 we had the full PAH genotype as well as phenotypic characteristics such as phenylalanine (Phe) concentrations (at newborn screening, confirmation, and highest known), and dietary Phe tolerance. On 716 mutant chromosomes, including 14 in genotypes with only one identified variant, we identified 114 different pathogenic variants. The most frequent, p.R408W, was present in 15.4% of the alleles; other frequent variants were c.1315 + 1G > A (6.1%), p.I65T (5.7%), and p.R261Q (5.7%). Three variants, c.142 T > G (p.L48 V), c.615G > C (p.E205D), and c.1342_1345delCTCC, were novel. We used the phenotypic parameters of variants paired with null alleles (functional hemizygotes) to assign the variants as classic PKU, moderate PKU, mild PKU, MHP-gray zone, or MHP. We also included the phenotype association(s) for all of the full genotypes. In 103 patients, we also could assign sapropterin dihydrochloride responsiveness, which is a synthetic form of the tetrahydrobiopterin (BH₄) PAH cofactor. This compilation from a single metabolic center provides further information on PAH variants in the United States and the correlations between genotype and phenotype.

Keywords: Hemizygotes; Hyperphenylalaninemia; Phenylketonuria; Sapropterin dihydrochloride.