BackgroundGaucher disease (GD) is the most common lysosomal storage disorder (LSD). Based on a deficient β-glucocerebrosidase it leads to an accumulation of glucosylceramide. Standard diagnostic procedures include measurement of enzyme activity, genetic testing as well as analysis of chitotriosidase and CCL18/PARC as biomarkers. Even though chitotriosidase is the most well-established biomarker in GD, it is not specific for GD. Furthermore, it may be false negative in a significant percentage of GD patients due to mutation. Additionally, chitotriosidase reflects the changes in the course of the disease belatedly. This further enhances the need for a reliable biomarker, especially for the monitoring of the disease and the impact of potential treatments.MethodologyHere, we evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of the previously reported biomarker Glucosylsphingosine with regard to different control groups (healthy control vs. GD carriers vs. other LSDs).FindingsOnly GD patients displayed elevated levels of Glucosylsphingosine higher than 12 ng/ml whereas the comparison controls groups revealed concentrations below the pathological cut-off, verifying the specificity of Glucosylsphingosine as a biomarker for GD. In addition, we evaluated the biomarker before and during enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) in 19 patients, demonstrating a decrease in Glucosylsphingosine over time with the most pronounced reduction within the first 6 months of ERT. Furthermore, our data reveals a correlation between the medical consequence of specific mutations and Glucosylsphingosine.InterpretationIn summary, Glucosylsphingosine is a very promising, reliable and specific biomarker for GD.

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ReNcell VM is an immortalized human neural progenitor cell line with the ability to differentiate in vitro into astrocytes and neurons, in which the Wnt/β-catenin pathway is known to be involved. However, little is known about kinetic changes of this pathway in human neural progenitor cell differentiation. In the present study, we provide a quantitative profile of Wnt/β-catenin pathway dynamics showing its spatio-temporal regulation during ReNcell VM cell differentiation. We show first that T-cell factor dependent transcription can be activated by stabilized β-catenin. Furthermore, endogenous Wnt ligands, pathway receptors and signaling molecules are temporally controlled, demonstrating changes related to differentiation stages. During the first three hours of differentiation the signaling molecules LRP6, Dvl2 and β-catenin are spatio-temporally regulated between distinct cellular compartments. From 24 h onward, components of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway are strongly activated and regulated as shown by mRNA up-regulation of Wnt ligands (Wnt5a and Wnt7a), receptors including Frizzled-2, -3, -6, -7, and -9, and co-receptors, and target genes including Axin2. This detailed temporal profile of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway is a first step to understand, control and to orientate, in vitro, human neural progenitor cell differentiation.

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