Case report
Patient 1 (PA-1) was a 2.5-month-old boy presenting with poor appetite, soft limbs, less activity, cry, and easy to wake up for 2 months. His height was 60.0 cm (25th -50th ), and weight was 5 kg (10th ). He showed underweight, low muscular tension, and enlargement of the anterior fontanelle. Biochemistry indexes revealed low serum ALP activity but high serum calcium (Ca) level (Table 2). Serum levels of phosphate (P), intact parathyroid hormone (i-PTH), 25 hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] as well as urinary calcium to creatinine ratio (Ca/Cr) were all in the normal range (Table 2). The X-ray of chest and lower limb long bones demonstrated the decreased bone density of the metaphysis of long bones, distal ribs, and the margin of the irregular bones, the increased distance between epiphysis and metaphysis. Abdominal ultrasound examinations showed calcium deposits in the bilateral renal medulla. He was clinically diagnosed with infantile HPP.
Patient 2 (PA-2) was a 5-month-old girl presenting with poor appetite, failure to gain weight, soft limbs for 4 months. She was 63.0 cm (10th -25th ) in height, and 4.3 kg (< 3th ) in weight. She showed underweight, developmental delay, weak mental response, low muscular tension, rachitic rosary, Harrison groove, craniotabes, and enlargement of the anterior fontanelle. Biochemistry indexes revealed decreased serum ALP and PTH levels, elevated serum Ca and urinary Ca/Cr, and normal serum levels of P and 25(OH)D3 (Table 2). The X-ray of the chest and both carpal bones demonstrated the thin ribs, and decreased density of the ribs, distal ulnar and radial bones, and also showed multiple low-density lines in the bilateral distal ulnar and radial bones, and the bilateral scapula. Head computed tomography (CT) demonstrated the general widening of cranial sutures and multiple skull osteogenesis imperfecta. Abdominal ultrasound examinations showed the diffuse calcium deposits in the medulla of both kidneys. She was clinically diagnosed with infantile HPP.
Patient 3 (PA-3) was a 57.0 cm (< 3th ), 5.0 kg (< 3th ), 4-month-old boy presenting with feeding difficulties and vomiting for 2 months. He showed underweight, developmental delay, weakness, and enlargement of the anterior fontanelle. Biochemistry indexes revealed decreased serum ALP and i-PTH levels, elevated serum Ca and urinary Ca/Cr, and normal serum levels of P and 25(OH)D3 (Table 2). The X-ray demonstrated uneven long bone density and the widened distance between epiphysis and metaphysics. The spine and skull showed the decreased bone density and the thin cranial plate. Chest CT demonstrated the generally decreased bone density and the enlarged soft tissue density at the head of ribs. Abdominal ultrasound examinations showed the diffuse calcium deposits in the medulla of both kidneys. He was clinically diagnosed with infantile HPP.
Patient 4 (PA-4) was a boy, aged 3month, 53.0 cm (< 3th), and 3.6 kg (< 3th), presenting with poor appetite, failure to gain weight, vomiting for 2 months. He showed underweight, developmental delay, weakness, low muscular tension, wide eye distance, low ear position, low nose bridge, and enlarged anterior fontanelle. Biochemistry indexes revealed decreased serum ALP and i-PTH levels, elevated serum Ca and urinary Ca/Cr, and normal serum levels of P and 25(OH)D3 (Table 2). The X-ray demonstrated the uneven bone density and the multiple bone destruction at the metaphysis of long bones. Abdominal ultrasound examinations showed the diffuse calcium deposits in the medulla of both kidneys. He was clinically diagnosed with infantile HPP.
Patient 5 (PA-5) was a 3-month-old boy presenting with poor appetite and failure to gain weight for 2 months. His length was 56.0 cm (< 3th ) and weight was 4.1 kg (< 3th ). He showed underweight, developmental delay, and enlargement of the anterior fontanelle. Biochemistry indexes revealed decreased serum ALP and i-PTH levels, elevated serum Ca and urinary Ca/Cr, and normal serum levels of P and 25(OH)D3 (Table 2). The X-ray of limbs demonstrated the stubby bones, the unclear boundary of cortex and medulla, the uneven decreased bone density, and the localized lucency shadow in the metaphysis. The X-ray showed decreased bone density and the widening cranial suture, and the cup-like changes in the metaphysis of the left distal radius and ulna. Abdominal ultrasound examinations showed the diffuse calcium deposits in the medulla of both kidneys. He was clinically diagnosed with infantile HPP.
Patient 6 (PA-6) was a 54.0 cm (< 3th), 3.7 kg (< 3th), 3-month-old girl presenting with feeding difficulties and failure to gain weight for 2 months. She showed underweight, developmental delay, and enlargement of the anterior fontanelle. Biochemistry indexes revealed decreased serum ALP and i-PTH levels, elevated serum Ca and urinary Ca/Cr, and normal serum levels of P and 25(OH)D3 (Table 2). The X-ray of the chest demonstrated the thin ribs and the uneven decreased bone density of the ribs. The X-ray of both lower extremities showed the lightly curved tibia, the blurred metaphysis, and the uneven decreased bone density. Abdominal ultrasound examinations showed the diffuse calcium deposits in the medulla of both kidneys. She was clinically diagnosed with infantile HPP.
Patient 7 (PA-7) was a 6-year and 5-month old boy presenting with intermittent claudication for more than 5 years. His body weight was 22 kg (25th -50th ). He showed claudication, swelling, and tenderness of the knee joint. Biochemistry indexes revealed decreased serum ALP levels, elevated serum P levels, and normal serum levels of Ca and i-PTH (Table 2). The X-ray of knees showed the multiple bone destruction at the metaphysis and epiphysis of both knees, accompanied by soft tissue swelling. The X-ray of the pelvis showed the small low-density shadow in the bilateral ischia, which suggested the bone destruction of the ischia. The X-ray scans of his hands and ankle joints showed nothing. Chest and sacroiliac joint CT as well as the abdominal ultrasound examinations also showed nothing. He was clinically diagnosed with childhood HPP.
Patient 8 was a 1 year and 2 months old boy with early deciduous teeth loss. He had a premature loss of deciduous teeth 2 months after the eruption. When he came to our clinic, he had lost two teeth. No bone deformities were found on physical examination. Biochemistry indexes revealed decreased serum ALP levels, elevated urinary Ca/Cr, and normal serum levels of Ca, P, 25(OH)D3, and i-PTH (Table 2). He was diagnosed with odonto HPP.
Patient 9 was a 1 year and 9 months old boy with the premature loss of the deciduous teeth. He had lost one tooth when he came to our clinic. No bone deformities were found on physical examination. Biochemistry indexes revealed decreased serum ALP levels, elevated serum P levels, and normal serum levels of Ca and i-PTH (Table 2). The X-ray scans of his chest, left carpal bone, knee joint, and hip joint showed nothing. He was diagnosed with odonto HPP.
Patient 10 was a 1 year and 2 months old boy with the premature loss of the deciduous teeth. He had lost two teeth when he was 11-month old. No bone deformities were found on physical examination. Biochemistry indexes revealed decreased serum ALP and i-PTH levels, elevated serum P and urinary Ca/Cr, and normal serum levels of Ca and 25(OH)D3 (Table 2). The X-ray scans of his chest, left carpal bone, skull, spine, and pelvis showed nothing. There were no abnormal signs of abdominal ultrasound examinations. He was diagnosed with odonto HPP.
Clinical Features
Ten patients in our center were included in this study, and ten published papers with another twenty-three patients were also reviewed. 15/23 (65.22%) cases of the reported HPP were within the past three years, indicating an increasing trend of the awareness, detection and diagnosis of HPP (Supplementary Fig. 1). In total, thirty-three Chinese children with HPP were identified, and the clinical features of all patients were summarized in Table 1. Two patients were classified as perinatal lethal HPP (6.1%), ten as infantile HPP (30.3%), ten as childhood HPP (30.3%), and eleven patients as odonto HPP (33.3%). However, there was no report on perinatal benign HPP in Chinese children. The male to female ratio was 24:9. The average onset age was 0.69 years (ranged from 2 hours after birth to 14 years), while the average diagnosis age was 3.87 years (ranged from 2 hours after birth to 19 years). Twenty-three patients (70%) had delayed diagnosis, which was more serious in the mild forms of HPP (childhood/odonto HPP). Eighteen (54.5%) patients showed short stature, and fifteen (45.4%) patients showed low body weight, both of which were more common in patients with infantile HPP. Nine out of ten (90.0%) patients with childhood HPP and all patients with odonto HPP presented early deciduous tooth loss. All patients had bone deformities. Epilepsies was observed in one patient with perinatal lethal HPP and one patient with infantile HPP. Calcium deposits in the medulla of both kidneys were reported in eight out of ten (80.0%) patients with infantile HPP. Except for three cases lost follow-up, all patients with severe forms of HPP (perinatal lethal/infantile HPP) have died.
Biochemical Parameters
The biochemical parameters of thirty-three patients were also shown in Table 1. All patients showed decreased serum ALP levels. Besides, in comparison with patients with the mild forms of HPP, serum ALP levels were significantly decreased in patients with severe forms of HPP (P < 0.01) (Fig. 1A). All patients with infantile HPP showed elevated serum Ca levels, and serum Ca levels were elevated in patients with severe forms of HPP when compared with those with the mild forms of HPP (P < 0.01) (Fig. 1B). Fifteen patients showed elevated serum P levels (45.4%). No significant difference was found in serum P levels between patients with mild and severe forms of HPP (P > 0.05) (Fig. 1C). Only three (0.09%) patients showed decreased serum 25(OH)D3 levels. Eight out of ten (80.0%) patients with infantile HPP had decreased i-PTH levels, and serum i-PTH levels were decreased in patients with severe forms of HPP in comparison with those with the mild forms of HPP (P < 0.01) (Fig. 1D). Besides, the elevated random urinary Ca/Cr ratios were observed in six (60.0%) infantile HPP patients.
ALPL gene mutations
Mutational analysis of the ALPL gene was performed in all patients involved in our present study, except for one patient with infantile HPP. The sequences of ALPL mutations identified in patients 2–9 were shown in Fig. 2, and the sequences identified in patient 10 were shown in our previous published paper [11]. Fourteen mutations were identified in our present study. Nine mutations in PA-2 ~ 7 and PA-9 ~ 10 were previously identified (p.Tyr28Cys, p.Ala33Val, p.Arg223Gln, p.Ser368del, p. 366_367delThrSerinsThr, p. Arg136Cys, p.Arg136His, p.Ala116Thr, p.Tyr388His). The remaining five mutations were novel: two missense mutations (p.Ala176Val, p.Phe268Leu) that found in PA-4 and PA-7, two frameshift mutations (p.Arg138GlyfsTer27, p.Leu511Profs*272) that found in PA-8 and PA-10, and one splice junction alteration (c.297 + 5G > A) that found in PA-8. According to the ACMG/AMP variant interpretation guidelines, the novel mutations were classified as likely pathogenic (p. Arg138GlyfsTer27, p. Leu511Profs*272) and uncertain (p. Phe268Leu, p. Ala176Val, c.297 + 5G > A), respectively.
Additionally, the genetic features of all HPP patients were also summarized. As shown in Table 2, Homozygous (3.57%), heterozygous (7.14%), and compound heterozygous (89.29%) ALPL mutations were present in two, four patients, and twenty-five patients, respectively. Missense variants (n = 28, 70.0%) and frameshift mutations (n = 9, 22.5%) were responsible for the majority of the allelic alterations, whereas splice junction alterations (n = 2, 5.0%) and regulatory mutations (n = 1, 2.5%) were rare. The most prevalent variant was p. Arg136His (n = 4 alleles, 7.14%), followed by p. Arg136Cys (n = 3 alleles, 5.36%), p. Ala33Val (n = 3 alleles, 5.36%), and p. Tyr388His (n = 3 alleles, 5.36%). As shown in Fig. 3, most mutations of ALPL were located in exons 5, 7, 10 and 3. It is worth noting that in the present study, subjects (patients 16, 17, 22, 24) carrying single heterozygous mutation showed milder phenotypes of HPP. Since no nonsense mutations was found in our study, we analyzed phenotypic differences between nonsense and missense variants, which have been reported in the Tissue Nonspecific Alkaline Phosphatase Gene Mutations Database (http://www.sesep.uvsq. fr/03_hypo_mutations.php). Compared to missense mutations, nonsense mutations were associated with a severe phenotype (P < 0.05).