Personalized Genome-Scale Modeling Reveals Metabolic Perturbations in Fibroblasts of Methylmalonic Aciduria Patients

Cobalamin (vitamin B12) is an essential cofactor for two human enzymes, methionine synthase and methylmalonyl-CoA mutase. Inborn errors of cobalamin metabolism (IECMs) are inherited genetic defects resulting in improper transport, modification, or utilization of cobalamin and include inherited methylmalonic acidurias, a group of IECMs most frequently caused by a defect in the methylmalonyl-CoA mutase enzyme. Here, we performed genome-scale modeling of IECMs to gain insight into their metabolic perturbations. First, we simulated deficiencies in 11 IECM-related genes and demonstrated that they cluster based on impaired metabolic pathways. Next, we leveraged RNA sequencing data from fibroblasts of 202 individuals with methylmalonic aciduria and 19 unaffected controls to construct and interrogate personalized metabolic models. Finally, we analyzed fluxes differing between patients depending on reported symptom presentation. Our findings reveal that (i) metabolic pathways including fatty acid metabolism and heme biosynthesis have reduced flux in IECMs, (ii) in personalized simulations, succinate and fumarate production and heme biosynthesis are impaired, especially in methylmalonyl-CoA mutase deficiency, (iii) one-carbon metabolism reactions such as serine hydroxymethyltransferase and folylglutamate synthase have reduced flux in all individuals with methylmalonic aciduria, and (iv) specific metabolic pathways are up- or down-regulated according to symptoms, including failure to thrive and hematological abnormalities, and treatments, such as antibiotics and protein restriction. Overall, our study delineates metabolic pathways perturbed in IECMs. In future applications, our modeling framework could be applied to other rare genetic diseases or used to predict personalized therapeutic or dietary interventions.