Mucopolysaccharidosis VI: pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment.

Mucopolysaccharidosis VI (MPS VI), or Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome, is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder caused by deficient activity of the enzyme arylsulfatase B (ASB). Progressive accumulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in organs and tissues leads to the development of multisystem clinical manifestations. The presentation of MPS VI is genotypically and phenotypically diverse, with a large number of potential disease-causing mutations and a phenotypic spectrum ranging from very slowly to very rapidly progressing disease. Diagnosis of MPS VI relies on presence of clinical features, increased GAG levels in urine or low ASB activity in dried blood spots, and measurement of enzyme activity levels in leukocytes or fibroblasts. The management of MPS VI involves enzyme replacement therapy and medical and surgical treatment of disease manifestations. Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry of GAG-derived disaccharides in blood or urine is emerging as a valuable method in the diagnosis, prognosis and assessment of therapeutic efficacy in MPS VI.