The Liver and Lysosomal Storage Diseases: From Pathophysiology to Clinical Presentation, Diagnostics, and Treatment

Diagnostics (Basel). 2024 Jun 19;14(12):1299. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics14121299.

Abstract

The liver, given its role as the central metabolic organ, is involved in many inherited metabolic disorders, including lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs). The aim of this manuscript was to provide a comprehensive overview on liver involvement in LSDs, focusing on clinical manifestation and its pathomechanisms. Gaucher disease, acid sphingomyelinase deficiency, and lysosomal acid lipase deficiency were thoroughly reviewed, with hepatic manifestation being a dominant clinical phenotype. The natural history of liver disease in the above-mentioned lysosomal disorders was delineated. The importance of Niemann-Pick type C disease as a cause of cholestatic jaundice, preceding neurological manifestation, was also highlighted. Diagnostic methods and current therapeutic management of LSDs were also discussed in the context of liver involvement.

Keywords: Gaucher disease; Niemann–Pick type C disease; acid sphingomyelinase deficiency; elevated transaminases; enzyme replacement therapy; hepatomegaly; liver; liver fibrosis; liver transplantation; lysosomal acid lipase deficiency; splenomegaly.

Publication types

  • Review

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.