Enzymological characterization of a feline analogue of primary hyperoxaluria type 2: a model for the human disease.

This paper concerns an enzymological investigation into a putative feline analogue of the human autosomal recessive disease primary hyperoxaluria type 2. The hepatic activities of D-glycerate dehydrogenase, using both D-glycerate and hydroxypyruvate as substrates, and glyoxylate reductase, which are the deficient enzyme activities in human primary hyperoxaluria type 2, were markedly depleted in four affected cats (0-6% of controls). The activities of a number of other enzymes, lactate dehydrogenase, glutamate dehydrogenase, D-amino acid oxidase, aspartate:2-oxoglutarate amino-transferase, glutamate:glyoxylate aminotransferase and alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase (the deficient enzyme in primary hyperoxaluria type 1) were unaltered. The intracellular distribution of D-glycerate dehydrogenase and glyoxylate reductase in cat liver was shown to be cytosolic, as they are in human liver. The activities of D-glycerate dehydrogenase and glyoxylate reductase were determined in unaffected related cats and putative heterozygotes were identified. The correlation between D-glycerate dehydrogenase and glyoxylate reductase activities in the related cats and their combined deficiency in the affected cats confirmed previous suggestions that they are identical gene products.