Systemic amyloidoses are a group of lethal diseases where proteins aggregate into fibrillar structures, called amyloid fibrils, that deposits throughout the body. Transthyretin (TTR) causes one type of amyloidosis, in which the aggregates mainly infiltrate nervous and cardiac tissue. Almost a hundred different mutations in the TTR gene are known to trigger the disease, but wild-type (wt) TTR is also incorporated into the fibrils, and may alone form amyloid. Patients with the TTRV30M mutation show, for unknown reasons, two clinical phenotypes. Some have an early onset of disease without cardiomyopathy while others have a late onset and cardiomyopathy. It has previously been described that amyloid fibrils formed from TTRV30M can have two different compositions; either with truncated molecules beside full-length TTR (type A) or only-full-length molecules (type B).  In this thesis, the clinical importance of the two types of amyloid fibrils was investigated. We found that the fibril composition types are correlated to the two clinical phenotypes seen among TTRV30M patients, with type A fibrils present in late onset patients and type B fibrils in early onset patients. The only treatment for hereditary TTR amyloidosis has been liver transplantation, whereby the liver producing the mutant TTR is replaced by an organ only producing wt protein. However, in some patients, cardiac symptoms progress post-transplantationally. We demonstrated that the propensity to incorporate wtTTR differs between fibril types and tissue types in TTRV30M patients, with cardiac amyloid of type A having the highest tendency. This offers an explanation to why particularly cardiac amyloidosis develops after transplantation, and suggests which patients that are at risk for such development. By examining patients with other mutations than TTRV30M, we showed that, in contrast to the general belief, a fibril composition with truncated TTR is very common and might even be the general rule. This may explain why TTRV30M patients often have a better outcome after liver transplantation than patients with other mutations. In conclusion, this thesis has contributed with one piece to the puzzle of understanding the differences in clinical phenotype and treatment response between TTR amyloidosis patients, by demonstrating corresponding differences at a molecular level.

Introdução: A amiloidose transtiretina é uma doença autossômica dominante decorrente de uma proteína transtiretina (TTR) variante, que sofre uma mudança conformacional e origina um tetrâmero de TTR instável, passo que é decisivo para o início da formação dos depósitos amilóides em diferentes órgãos e tecidos. Na maioria dos pacientes, o sistema nervoso periférico é o alvo principal, resultando na polineuropatia amiloidótica familiar transtiretina (TTR-FAP), classicamente uma neuropatia sensitivo-motora e autonômica progressiva, evoluindo para o óbito em aproximadamente 10 anos. A mutação de ponto mais frequente no mundo, incluindo o Brasil, é a TTRVal30Met, entretanto mais de 100 mutações de ponto diferentes já foram descritas. Objetivos: descrever a epidemiologia mutacional do gene TTR na polineuropatia amiloidótica familiar e correlacionar estas mutações com seus achados clínicos e eletroneuromiográficos. Métodos: estudo de coorte, descritivo e retrospectivo de um grupo de pacientes brasileiros encaminhados para o serviço de neurogenética do HC da FMRP-USP para investigação de neuropatia periférica, cujo estudo genético identificou uma mutação no gene TTR, com posterior análise transversal dos resultados obtidos entre os subgrupos com as diferentes mutações. Resultados: um total de 128 pacientes tiveram uma mutação de ponto no gene TTR identificada, dos quais 12 (9,4%) pacientes apresentaram uma mutação não TTRVal30Met, incluindo 4 patogênicas (6 pacientes, 4,7%) e 2 não patogênicas (6 pacientes, 4,7%). A mutações não TTRVal30Met patogênicas foram TTRAsp38Tyr (2 pacientes), TTRIle107Val (2 pacientes), TTRVal71Ala (1 paciente) e TTRVal122Ile (1 paciente). Dentre as mutações não patogênicas, foram encontradas TTRGly6Ser (5 pacientes) e TTRThr119Thr (1 paciente). A mutação TTRVal30Met estava presente em 116 (90,6%) pacientes, dos quais 52 possuíam dados clínicos e eletroneuromiográficos completos: 39 (75%) tiveram início precoce e 13 (25%), início tardio. O grupo de início precoce apresentou-se como a forma clássica da PAF-TTR, sem predileção de gênero (homens: 53,8%), manifestação inicial como neuropatia de fibras finas e autonômica (82,1%) e história familiar positiva (90,3%). A ENMG estava normal em 36,7% destes pacientes. O envolvimento cardiovascular foi caracterizado mais frequentemente por alterações da condução cardíaca (84,2%), sendo menos prevalente a cardiomiopatia (11,1%). Por outro lado, o grupo de início tardio mostrou uma predominância do sexo masculino (92,3%), presença de sintomas motores na primeira consulta (38,5%), resultando numa neuropatia sensitivo-motora com acometimento de fibras grossas e história familiar negativa (69,2%). Todos apresentaram neuropatia sensitivo-motora na ENMG. Neste grupo, a cardiomiopatia estava presente em 71,4% dos pacientes. Todos os pacientes, em ambos os grupos, tiveram disautonomia em algum momento do seu seguimento clínico. Conclusões: no nosso estudo aproximadamente 5% dos pacientes com FAP-TTR tinham uma mutação não TTRVal30Met, demonstrando a importância do sequenciamento do gene TTR em pacientes com história clínica sugestiva e screening negativo para a mutação TTR Val30Met. Além disso, os pacientes brasileiros com FAP-TTRVal30Met apresentaram achados clínicos e eletroneuromiográficos similares as populações descritas com esta mutação em outros países. / Background: Transthyretin amyloidosis is an autossomal dominant disease caused by variant transthyretin, that is misfolded, originating a unstable transthyretin tetramer, a rate-limiting step in the formation of the amyloid deposits in different organs and tissues. In most patients, the peripheral nervous system is the main target, leading to transtyretin familial amyloid neuropathy (TTR-FAP), classically characterized as a progressive sensory-motor and autonomic neuropathy, that leads to death in about 10 years. TTRVal30Met is the most frequent point mutation worldwide, including Brazil, but more than 100 different point mutations has been described. Objectives: describe the mutational epidemiology of TTR gene in TTR-FAP and characterize its clinical and electrophysiological findings. Methods: a descriptive and retrospective study of a group of Brazilian patients forwarded to the Neurogenetics or Peripheral Nerve Clinics from FMRP-USP whose etiological investigation identified a mutation in the TTR gene. A cross-sectional analysis evaluating the subgroups with different mutations was also carried on. Results: we identified one hundred and twenty eight patients carrying a TTR point mutation, of whom 12 (9,4%) harbored a non-Val30Met mutation, including 4 pathogenic (6 patients, 4,7%) and 2 non-pathogenic abnormalities (6 patients, 4,7%). The non Val30Met pathogenic mutations were TTRAsp38Tyr (2 patients), TTRIle107Val (2 patients), TTRVal71Ala (1 patient) and TTRVal122Ile (1 patient). Among the non-pathogenic mutations, we found the TTRGly6Ser (5 patients) and the TTRThr119Thr (1 patient). The TTRVal30Met mutation was present in 116 (90,6%) patients, of whom 52 had a complete clinical and neurophysiological data: 39 (75%) with early-onset and 13(25%) with late-onset neuropathies. The early-onset group presented as the classic TTRFAP, with no gender predominance (male: 53,8%), the first manifestations were those of a small fiber sensory and autonomic neuropathy (82,1%) and a highly positive family history (90,3%). EMG was normal in 36,7% of these patients. The cardiovascular involvement was characterized by frequent ECG abnormalities (84,2%), less often associated with cardiomayopathy (11,1%). On the other hand, the late-onset TTRVal30Met showed a male predominance (92,3%), presence of motor complaints in the first evaluation (38,5%) resulting in a sensory-motor polyneuropathy with large fiber involvement and a negative family history (69,2%). All patients presented a sensory and motor neuropathy on EMG examination. In this group, cardiomiopathy was frequently associated with the neuropathy (71,4%). All patients, in both groups, had autonomic symptoms at some point in clinical follow up. Conclusions: In our study almost 5% of the patients with TTR-FAP have a non Val30Met pathogenic mutation, highlighting the importance of sequecing the whole TTR gene in patients with a sugestive clinical history and negative screening for TTRVal30Met mutation. In adition, the Brazilian patients we studied with early and late onset TTR-FAP, present similar findings to TTRVal30Met populations from other countries submitted to similar studies.

<p>Over 20 different plasma proteins have been shown to have the capacity to undergo conformational changes and self-assemble into highly stable and insoluble amyloid fibrils. </p><p>One, transthyretin (TTR), consists of 127 amino acid residues arranged in eight β-strands (named A to H) and is involved in two different clinical forms of amyloidosis. In familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP), mutated TTR is found in the amyloid deposits while in senile systemic amyloidosis (SSA) only wild type TTR is present in the amyloid deposits.</p><p>In this study, we have identified a novel form of amyloidosis that is caused by the deposition of an N-terminal fragment of apolipoprotein A-IV (apoA-IV). Interestingly, apoA-IV amyloid was found deposited in a patient that also suffered from SSA. Thus, this patient had two biochemically distinct and concurrent forms of amyloidosis that were derived from apoA-IV and TTR. </p><p>We have also discovered that two different morphological deposition patterns (identified as patterns A and B) exist in TTR-derived amyloidosis. Pattern A, observed in all SSA patients studied and in half of the FAP patients examined contained large homogenous deposits that were composed of short randomly oriented fibrils. In contrast, pattern B was observed in the remaining FAP patients and was represented by smaller-sized deposits that consisted of longer fibrils that were arranged in parallel bundles. The predominant TTR component deposited also differed between the two amyloid patterns. Amyloid pattern A contained mainly C-terminal TTR fragments while pattern B amyloid consisted of full-length TTR. Our findings suggest that two different mechanisms of fibril formation may exist in TTR-derived amyloidosis. </p><p>We have found two epitopes, corresponding to strand C and H that are surface-exposed in TTR-derived amyloid fibrils but hidden and part of the hydrophobic core in the native molecular structure. This indicates that TTR undergoes partial unfolding during fibril formation. </p>

Over 20 different plasma proteins have been shown to have the capacity to undergo conformational changes and self-assemble into highly stable and insoluble amyloid fibrils. One, transthyretin (TTR), consists of 127 amino acid residues arranged in eight β-strands (named A to H) and is involved in two different clinical forms of amyloidosis. In familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP), mutated TTR is found in the amyloid deposits while in senile systemic amyloidosis (SSA) only wild type TTR is present in the amyloid deposits. In this study, we have identified a novel form of amyloidosis that is caused by the deposition of an N-terminal fragment of apolipoprotein A-IV (apoA-IV). Interestingly, apoA-IV amyloid was found deposited in a patient that also suffered from SSA. Thus, this patient had two biochemically distinct and concurrent forms of amyloidosis that were derived from apoA-IV and TTR. We have also discovered that two different morphological deposition patterns (identified as patterns A and B) exist in TTR-derived amyloidosis. Pattern A, observed in all SSA patients studied and in half of the FAP patients examined contained large homogenous deposits that were composed of short randomly oriented fibrils. In contrast, pattern B was observed in the remaining FAP patients and was represented by smaller-sized deposits that consisted of longer fibrils that were arranged in parallel bundles. The predominant TTR component deposited also differed between the two amyloid patterns. Amyloid pattern A contained mainly C-terminal TTR fragments while pattern B amyloid consisted of full-length TTR. Our findings suggest that two different mechanisms of fibril formation may exist in TTR-derived amyloidosis. We have found two epitopes, corresponding to strand C and H that are surface-exposed in TTR-derived amyloid fibrils but hidden and part of the hydrophobic core in the native molecular structure. This indicates that TTR undergoes partial unfolding during fibril formation.

Introdução: A amiloidose transtiretina é uma doença autossômica dominante decorrente de uma proteína transtiretina (TTR) variante, que sofre uma mudança conformacional e origina um tetrâmero de TTR instável, passo que é decisivo para o início da formação dos depósitos amilóides em diferentes órgãos e tecidos. Na maioria dos pacientes, o sistema nervoso periférico é o alvo principal, resultando na polineuropatia amiloidótica familiar transtiretina (TTR-FAP), classicamente uma neuropatia sensitivo-motora e autonômica progressiva, evoluindo para o óbito em aproximadamente 10 anos. A mutação de ponto mais frequente no mundo, incluindo o Brasil, é a TTRVal30Met, entretanto mais de 100 mutações de ponto diferentes já foram descritas. Objetivos: descrever a epidemiologia mutacional do gene TTR na polineuropatia amiloidótica familiar e correlacionar estas mutações com seus achados clínicos e eletroneuromiográficos. Métodos: estudo de coorte, descritivo e retrospectivo de um grupo de pacientes brasileiros encaminhados para o serviço de neurogenética do HC da FMRP-USP para investigação de neuropatia periférica, cujo estudo genético identificou uma mutação no gene TTR, com posterior análise transversal dos resultados obtidos entre os subgrupos com as diferentes mutações. Resultados: um total de 128 pacientes tiveram uma mutação de ponto no gene TTR identificada, dos quais 12 (9,4%) pacientes apresentaram uma mutação não TTRVal30Met, incluindo 4 patogênicas (6 pacientes, 4,7%) e 2 não patogênicas (6 pacientes, 4,7%). A mutações não TTRVal30Met patogênicas foram TTRAsp38Tyr (2 pacientes), TTRIle107Val (2 pacientes), TTRVal71Ala (1 paciente) e TTRVal122Ile (1 paciente). Dentre as mutações não patogênicas, foram encontradas TTRGly6Ser (5 pacientes) e TTRThr119Thr (1 paciente). A mutação TTRVal30Met estava presente em 116 (90,6%) pacientes, dos quais 52 possuíam dados clínicos e eletroneuromiográficos completos: 39 (75%) tiveram início precoce e 13 (25%), início tardio. O grupo de início precoce apresentou-se como a forma clássica da PAF-TTR, sem predileção de gênero (homens: 53,8%), manifestação inicial como neuropatia de fibras finas e autonômica (82,1%) e história familiar positiva (90,3%). A ENMG estava normal em 36,7% destes pacientes. O envolvimento cardiovascular foi caracterizado mais frequentemente por alterações da condução cardíaca (84,2%), sendo menos prevalente a cardiomiopatia (11,1%). Por outro lado, o grupo de início tardio mostrou uma predominância do sexo masculino (92,3%), presença de sintomas motores na primeira consulta (38,5%), resultando numa neuropatia sensitivo-motora com acometimento de fibras grossas e história familiar negativa (69,2%). Todos apresentaram neuropatia sensitivo-motora na ENMG. Neste grupo, a cardiomiopatia estava presente em 71,4% dos pacientes. Todos os pacientes, em ambos os grupos, tiveram disautonomia em algum momento do seu seguimento clínico. Conclusões: no nosso estudo aproximadamente 5% dos pacientes com FAP-TTR tinham uma mutação não TTRVal30Met, demonstrando a importância do sequenciamento do gene TTR em pacientes com história clínica sugestiva e screening negativo para a mutação TTR Val30Met. Além disso, os pacientes brasileiros com FAP-TTRVal30Met apresentaram achados clínicos e eletroneuromiográficos similares as populações descritas com esta mutação em outros países. / Background: Transthyretin amyloidosis is an autossomal dominant disease caused by variant transthyretin, that is misfolded, originating a unstable transthyretin tetramer, a rate-limiting step in the formation of the amyloid deposits in different organs and tissues. In most patients, the peripheral nervous system is the main target, leading to transtyretin familial amyloid neuropathy (TTR-FAP), classically characterized as a progressive sensory-motor and autonomic neuropathy, that leads to death in about 10 years. TTRVal30Met is the most frequent point mutation worldwide, including Brazil, but more than 100 different point mutations has been described. Objectives: describe the mutational epidemiology of TTR gene in TTR-FAP and characterize its clinical and electrophysiological findings. Methods: a descriptive and retrospective study of a group of Brazilian patients forwarded to the Neurogenetics or Peripheral Nerve Clinics from FMRP-USP whose etiological investigation identified a mutation in the TTR gene. A cross-sectional analysis evaluating the subgroups with different mutations was also carried on. Results: we identified one hundred and twenty eight patients carrying a TTR point mutation, of whom 12 (9,4%) harbored a non-Val30Met mutation, including 4 pathogenic (6 patients, 4,7%) and 2 non-pathogenic abnormalities (6 patients, 4,7%). The non Val30Met pathogenic mutations were TTRAsp38Tyr (2 patients), TTRIle107Val (2 patients), TTRVal71Ala (1 patient) and TTRVal122Ile (1 patient). Among the non-pathogenic mutations, we found the TTRGly6Ser (5 patients) and the TTRThr119Thr (1 patient). The TTRVal30Met mutation was present in 116 (90,6%) patients, of whom 52 had a complete clinical and neurophysiological data: 39 (75%) with early-onset and 13(25%) with late-onset neuropathies. The early-onset group presented as the classic TTRFAP, with no gender predominance (male: 53,8%), the first manifestations were those of a small fiber sensory and autonomic neuropathy (82,1%) and a highly positive family history (90,3%). EMG was normal in 36,7% of these patients. The cardiovascular involvement was characterized by frequent ECG abnormalities (84,2%), less often associated with cardiomayopathy (11,1%). On the other hand, the late-onset TTRVal30Met showed a male predominance (92,3%), presence of motor complaints in the first evaluation (38,5%) resulting in a sensory-motor polyneuropathy with large fiber involvement and a negative family history (69,2%). All patients presented a sensory and motor neuropathy on EMG examination. In this group, cardiomiopathy was frequently associated with the neuropathy (71,4%). All patients, in both groups, had autonomic symptoms at some point in clinical follow up. Conclusions: In our study almost 5% of the patients with TTR-FAP have a non Val30Met pathogenic mutation, highlighting the importance of sequecing the whole TTR gene in patients with a sugestive clinical history and negative screening for TTRVal30Met mutation. In adition, the Brazilian patients we studied with early and late onset TTR-FAP, present similar findings to TTRVal30Met populations from other countries submitted to similar studies.