Mohamed Feda E, Al-Jasmi Fatma
Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
ASPIRE Precision Medicine Research Institute Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Front Pharmacol. 2024 Feb 13;15:1335058. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1335058. eCollection 2024.
Gaucher disease (GD) is mainly caused by glucocerebrosidase (GCase) enzyme deficiency due to genetic variations in the gene leading to the toxic accumulation of sphingolipids in various organs, which causes symptoms such as anemia, thrombocytopenia, hepatosplenomegaly, and neurological manifestations. GD is clinically classified into the non-neuronopathic type 1, and the acute and chronic neuronopathic forms, types 2 and 3, respectively. In addition to the current approved GD medications, the repurposing of Ambroxol (ABX) has emerged as a prospective enzyme enhancement therapy option showing its potential to enhance mutated GCase activity and reduce glucosylceramide accumulation in GD-affected tissues of different genotypes. The variability in response to ABX varies across different variants, highlighting the diversity in patients' therapeutic outcomes. Its oral availability and safety profile make it an attractive option, particularly for patients with neurological manifestations. Clinical trials are essential to explore further ABX's potential as a therapeutic medication for GD to encourage pharmaceutical companies' investment in its development. This review highlights the potential of ABX as a pharmacological chaperone therapy for GD and stresses the importance of addressing response variability in clinical studies to improve the management of this rare and complex disorder.
戈谢病(GD)主要是由于该基因的遗传变异导致葡糖脑苷脂酶(GCase)缺乏,从而致使鞘脂在各个器官中蓄积,引发贫血、血小板减少、肝脾肿大以及神经症状等。临床上,GD分为非神经病变1型以及急性和慢性神经病变型,分别为2型和3型。除了目前已获批的GD药物外,氨溴索(ABX)的重新利用已成为一种有前景的酶增强治疗选择,显示出其在增强突变型GCase活性以及减少不同基因型GD受累组织中葡糖神经酰胺蓄积方面的潜力。不同变体对ABX的反应存在差异,这凸显了患者治疗结果的多样性。其口服可用性和安全性使其成为一个有吸引力的选择,尤其是对于有神经症状的患者。临床试验对于进一步探索ABX作为GD治疗药物的潜力至关重要,以鼓励制药公司对其进行研发投资。本综述强调了ABX作为GD的药理伴侣疗法的潜力,并强调了在临床研究中解决反应变异性以改善这种罕见复杂疾病管理的重要性。