The First Reported Case of Hyperreninemic Hypoaldosteronism Due to Mucopolysaccharidosis Disorder

Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) are rare genetic lysosomal storage disorders caused by a deficiency of enzymes that catalyze the breakdown of glycosaminoglycans. MPS-III, also known as Sanfilippo syndrome, is caused by a deficiency of one of four enzymes that catalyze heparan sulfate proteoglycan degradation. MPS-IIIA results from a deficiency of heparan sulfatase. The natural history of MPS-IIIA is marked by progressive neurodegeneration. A nine-year-old boy with developmental delay presented with progressive three-month functional decline culminating in emergency department presentation for lethargy and immobility. Laboratory workup revealed hepatic and renal failure, coagulopathy, pancytopenia, hypernatremia, and uremia requiring emergent dialysis. He developed hyperkalemia during the second month of hospitalization, the workup of which led to a diagnosis of hyperreninemic hypoaldosteronism with normal cortisol. Blood chemistry consistent with renal hypoperfusion prompted exploration of adrenal ischemia, specifically affecting the zona glomerulosa and sparing the zona fasciculata, to explain low aldosterone with normal cortisol. Heparan sulfate (HS) normally acts as a storage site for basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), a paracrine stimulator of aldosterone, but accumulates in MPS-IIIA due to deficiency of heparan sulfatase. If bFGF is sequestered in HS deposits in MPS-III, then paracrine signaling is reduced, accounting for the state of hypoaldosteronism. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of hyperreninemic hypoaldosteronism caused by an MPS disorder.