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Lipid storage myopathy associated with sertraline treatment is an acquired mitochondrial disorder with respiratory chain deficiency

Hedberg-Oldfors, Carola LU ; Lindgren, Ulrika ; Visuttijai, Kittichate ; Shen, Yan ; Ilinca, Andreea LU orcid ; Nordström, Sara ; Lindberg, Christopher and Oldfors, Anders (2024) In Acta Neuropathologica 148(1).
Abstract

Lipid storage myopathies are considered inborn errors of metabolism affecting the fatty acid metabolism and leading to accumulation of lipid droplets in the cytoplasm of muscle fibers. Specific diagnosis is based on investigation of organic aids in urine, acylcarnitines in blood and genetic testing. An acquired lipid storage myopathy in patients treated with the antidepressant drug sertraline, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, has recently emerged as a new tentative differential diagnosis. We analyzed the muscle biopsy tissue in a group of 11 adult patients with muscle weakness and lipid storage myopathy which developed at a time when they were on sertraline treatment. This group comprise most patients with lipid storage myopathies in... (More)

Lipid storage myopathies are considered inborn errors of metabolism affecting the fatty acid metabolism and leading to accumulation of lipid droplets in the cytoplasm of muscle fibers. Specific diagnosis is based on investigation of organic aids in urine, acylcarnitines in blood and genetic testing. An acquired lipid storage myopathy in patients treated with the antidepressant drug sertraline, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, has recently emerged as a new tentative differential diagnosis. We analyzed the muscle biopsy tissue in a group of 11 adult patients with muscle weakness and lipid storage myopathy which developed at a time when they were on sertraline treatment. This group comprise most patients with lipid storage myopathies in western Sweden during the recent nine-year period. By enzyme histochemistry, electron microscopy, quantitative proteomics, immunofluorescence of the respiratory chain subunits, western blot and genetic analyses we demonstrate that muscle tissue in this group of patients exhibit a characteristic morphological and proteomic profile. The patients also showed an acylcarnitine profile in blood suggestive of multiple acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency, but no genetic explanation was found by whole genome or exome sequencing. By proteomic analysis the muscle tissue revealed a profound loss of Complex I subunits from the respiratory chain and to some extent also deficiency of Complex II and IV. Most other components of the respiratory chain as well as the fatty acid oxidation and citric acid cycle were upregulated in accordance with the massive mitochondrial proliferation. The respiratory chain deficiency was verified by immunofluorescence analysis, western blot analysis and enzyme histochemistry. The typical ultrastructural changes of the mitochondria included pleomorphism, dark matrix and frequent round osmiophilic inclusions. Our results show that lipid storage myopathy associated with sertraline treatment is a mitochondrial disorder with respiratory chain deficiency and is an important differential diagnosis with characteristic features.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Lipid storage myopathy, Metabolic crisis, Multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency, Muscle weakness, Sertraline, SSRI
in
Acta Neuropathologica
volume
148
issue
1
article number
73
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:85210156870
  • pmid:39586906
ISSN
0001-6322
DOI
10.1007/s00401-024-02830-x
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4408145a-0066-4afe-b55b-063e0275e814
date added to LUP
2025-01-07 15:39:36
date last changed
2025-05-14 06:16:41
@article{4408145a-0066-4afe-b55b-063e0275e814,
  abstract     = {{<p>Lipid storage myopathies are considered inborn errors of metabolism affecting the fatty acid metabolism and leading to accumulation of lipid droplets in the cytoplasm of muscle fibers. Specific diagnosis is based on investigation of organic aids in urine, acylcarnitines in blood and genetic testing. An acquired lipid storage myopathy in patients treated with the antidepressant drug sertraline, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, has recently emerged as a new tentative differential diagnosis. We analyzed the muscle biopsy tissue in a group of 11 adult patients with muscle weakness and lipid storage myopathy which developed at a time when they were on sertraline treatment. This group comprise most patients with lipid storage myopathies in western Sweden during the recent nine-year period. By enzyme histochemistry, electron microscopy, quantitative proteomics, immunofluorescence of the respiratory chain subunits, western blot and genetic analyses we demonstrate that muscle tissue in this group of patients exhibit a characteristic morphological and proteomic profile. The patients also showed an acylcarnitine profile in blood suggestive of multiple acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency, but no genetic explanation was found by whole genome or exome sequencing. By proteomic analysis the muscle tissue revealed a profound loss of Complex I subunits from the respiratory chain and to some extent also deficiency of Complex II and IV. Most other components of the respiratory chain as well as the fatty acid oxidation and citric acid cycle were upregulated in accordance with the massive mitochondrial proliferation. The respiratory chain deficiency was verified by immunofluorescence analysis, western blot analysis and enzyme histochemistry. The typical ultrastructural changes of the mitochondria included pleomorphism, dark matrix and frequent round osmiophilic inclusions. Our results show that lipid storage myopathy associated with sertraline treatment is a mitochondrial disorder with respiratory chain deficiency and is an important differential diagnosis with characteristic features.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hedberg-Oldfors, Carola and Lindgren, Ulrika and Visuttijai, Kittichate and Shen, Yan and Ilinca, Andreea and Nordström, Sara and Lindberg, Christopher and Oldfors, Anders}},
  issn         = {{0001-6322}},
  keywords     = {{Lipid storage myopathy; Metabolic crisis; Multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency; Muscle weakness; Sertraline; SSRI}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Acta Neuropathologica}},
  title        = {{Lipid storage myopathy associated with sertraline treatment is an acquired mitochondrial disorder with respiratory chain deficiency}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00401-024-02830-x}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s00401-024-02830-x}},
  volume       = {{148}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}