Characteristics of murine histidinaemia and its potential for genetic manipulation.
BACKGROUND
Histidinaemia is an autosomal recessive disorder affecting the hepatic enzyme histidine ammonia lyase (histidase) resulting in elevated plasma and urinary histidine and is prototypic of a series of hepatic cytosolic enzyme defects.


OBJECTIVE
To characterise the physiology of murine histidinaemia with respect to histidine excretion and catabolism, and explore the potential for manipulating cellular and whole body histidase metabolism by gene transfer.


METHODS
We studied his/his mice which have a G to A substitution in the gene encoding histidase, using both in vitro transduction of isolated hepatocytes by lipofection with wild-type histidase cDNA, and in vivo transduction of whole liver using a retroviral construct.


CONCLUSIONS
Histidase cDNA expression restored histidase activity in vivo and in vitro towards normal levels, demonstrated both at the cellular level and by whole body metabolic studies, establishing the potential of this model for the development of new gene therapeutic approaches.
Centre for Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Royal Free and University College School of Medicine, London, UK.
N
N
Mellor
M
M
Themis
C
C
Selden
M
M
Jones
H J F
HJ
Hodgson
D000592:Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000628:therapy*; D000818:Animals; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006639:Histidine / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine; D006638:Histidine Ammonia-Lyase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008081:Liposomes; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000235:genetics; D014161:Transduction, Genetic
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D008081:Liposomes; D006639:Histidine; D006638:Histidine Ammonia-Lyase