Skin fibroblast carnitine uptake in secondary carnitine deficiency disorders

Skin fibroblast carnitine uptake studies may identify and differentiate primary and secondary carnitine deficiency disorders. To confirm the specificity of these studies in differentiating primary from secondary carnitine deficiency disorders, we have studied carnitine uptake in the cultured skin fibroblasts from 5 children who have various enzymatic defects in intramitochondrial beta-oxidation including short-chain, medium-chain and long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase and short-chain L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiencies, and in 4 children with cytochrome oxidase deficiency. Carnitine uptake was normal in the intramitochondrial beta-oxidation cases, suggesting other mechanisms for their carnitine deficiency. Therefore, intramitochondrial beta-oxidation defects associated with carnitine deficiency can be differentiated from primary carnitine deficiency not only by the presence of an abnormal dicarboxylic aciduria but by normal skin fibroblast carnitine uptake. In contrast to these findings, carnitine uptake in the cultured skin fibroblasts of four children with secondary carnitine deficiency due to cytochrome oxidase deficiency demonstrated a partial decrease in the maximal velocity of uptake (20-47% control Vmax), similar to that observed in the primary carnitine deficiency heterozygotes. We propose that this observation may be due to a generalized decrease in intracellular ATP, thus decreasing the efficiency of the energy- and sodium-dependent carnitine transporter. We conclude that carnitine uptake studies in cultured skin fibroblasts will contribute to an understanding of the mechanisms of carnitine depletion in the primary and secondary carnitine deficiency disorders.