Clinical Description
ATP8B1 deficiency encompasses a phenotypic spectrum ranging from severe through moderate to mild. Severe ATP8B1 deficiency is characterized by infantile-onset cholestasis that progresses to cirrhosis, hepatic failure, and death. Mild-to-moderate ATP8B1 deficiency was initially thought to involve intermittent symptomatic cholestasis with a lack of hepatic fibrosis; however, some persons with clinically diagnosed mild disease have hepatic fibrosis on biopsy. Furthermore, in some persons with ATP8B1 deficiency the clinical findings can span the phenotypic spectrum, shifting over time from the mild end (episodic cholestasis) to the severe end of the spectrum (persistent cholestasis) [van Ooteghem et al 2002].
Family members with the same ATP8B1 pathogenic variants do not always have disease of the same clinical severity. In addition, clinical severity can change over time: mild disease diagnosed in childhood may progress in adulthood to severe disease [Morris et al 2015, Squires et al 2017].
Severe ATP8B1 deficiency. The age and onset of manifestations of severe ATP8B1 deficiency vary among affected individuals. Affected children typically present in the first year of life, often with severe pruritus and jaundice [Pawlikowska et al 2010, Morris et al 2015]. The onset of pruritus is often difficult to pinpoint because detection depends on an infant's ability to scratch in a coordinated manner; thus, in some infants irritability may be an initial manifestation of pruritus. Some individuals have been treated for long periods for chronic dermatologic conditions because of longstanding pruritus without typical findings of liver disease.
Secondary manifestations such as coagulopathy (due to vitamin K deficiency), malabsorption, and poor weight gain may present earlier than age three months.
While onset in the first year of life with progression to cirrhosis by the end of the first decade of life is typical in severe ATP8B1 deficiency, both interfamilial and intrafamilial variability have been noted among affected individuals with the same pathogenic variants [Bourke et al 1996, Bull et al 1999, Klomp et al 2004, Morris et al 2015, Squires et al 2017, van Wessel et al 2021].
Mild-to-moderate ATP8B1 deficiency is characterized by intermittent episodes of cholestasis, severe pruritus, and jaundice in the absence of extrahepatic bile duct obstruction. Episodes may last from weeks to months. Symptom-free intervals may last from months to years. Individuals may have variable or unknown triggers for some or all bouts of cholestasis.
In truly mild disease, chronic liver damage does not develop; however, in some individuals in whom ATP8B1 deficiency initially appears mild, clinical monitoring over time or detection of fibrosis on liver biopsy may indicate disease of moderate severity [van Ooteghem et al 2002, van Mil et al 2004a]. More recently, ATP8B1 pathogenic variants have been reported in some adults with cryptogenic cirrhosis, suggesting further broadening of the phenotypic spectrum of ATP8B1 deficiency to include development of liver disease beyond the first decades of life [Vitale et al 2018].
See Table 3 for an overview of the distinguishing features of the severe and mild-to-moderate phenotypes.
Table 3.
ATP8B1 Deficiency: Comparison of Phenotypes by Select Features
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Feature | Severe | Mild to Moderate |
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Hepatic
| Cholestasis | Near universal | Common/intermittent |
Pruritus | Near universal | Common/intermittent |
Nutritional deficiencies (incl vitamins A, D, E, K) | Common | Rare |
Poor growth | Common | Rare |
Diarrhea | Common | Rare |
Chronic liver disease | Common | Some |
Extrahepatic
| Sensorineural hearing loss | Common | Common |
Pancreatitis or pancreatic exocrine insufficiency | Some | Some |
Cholestasis. Although children with the severe phenotype may initially experience episodes of severe cholestasis followed by disease-free intervals, cholestasis eventually becomes constant. Triggers that increase the risk of cholestasis may include intercurrent illness, drug exposure, shifts in hormonal milieu (including those resulting from ingestion of contraceptive drugs and/or pregnancy), and coexistent malignancy.
Pruritus is typically severe and persistent; jaundice is often intermittent. While pruritus is disproportionately severe for the degree of hyperbilirubinemia, it is proportional to the elevation in serum bile acids. Significant skin excoriations, caused by constant scratching, are frequent.
Nutritional deficiencies. Complications of nutritional deficiencies can result in significant morbidity and mortality in individuals with the severe phenotype. Prolonged malabsorption of fat-soluble vitamins may lead to easy bruising or bleeding (caused by vitamin K deficiency), rickets (caused by vitamin D deficiency), and neurologic abnormalities (caused by vitamin E deficiency). In contrast, vitamin A levels – when measured – are often normal or elevated; supplementation is rarely required [Morris et al 2015, Squires et al 2017].
Poor growth becomes evident in early childhood. While this may be secondary to nutritional complications of cholestasis (which typically result in weight loss out of proportion to the decreased rate of linear growth), children with severe ATP8B1 deficiency typically manifest failure to thrive and poor growth beyond that expected in persons with cholestasis alone [Pawlikowska et al 2010].
Diarrhea. The profound diarrhea that can accompany ATP8B1 deficiency may also contribute to poor growth. Mechanisms are complex and may involve both pancreatic insufficiency and the extrahepatic (dys)function of ATP8B1 in the terminal ileum. Importantly, the diarrhea may persist or even worsen following liver transplantation [Davit-Spraul et al 2010, Pawlikowska et al 2010, Verhulst et al 2010, Folvik et al 2012, Bull et al 2018, Henkel et al 2021].
Chronic liver disease including (but not limited to) those resulting from complications of portal hypertension may develop. Cirrhosis and its attendant complications, including hepatic failure and death, typically ensue in the absence of surgical intervention such as partial biliary diversion or liver transplantation (see Management).
Post-transplantation steatohepatitis may also occur, and may evolve into cirrhosis [Lykavieris et al 2003, Miyagawa-Hayashino et al 2009, Davit-Spraul et al 2010, Hori et al 2011, Henkel et al 2021].
Extrahepatic disease manifestations are attributed to the widespread tissue distribution of ATP8B1. Some individuals with ATP8B1 deficiency have:
Sensorineural hearing loss, most pronounced at higher frequencies and often detected in late adolescence and early adulthood, which can progress with time. Hearing loss is attributed to defects in the composition of membranes of inner ear cilia [
Stapelbroek et al 2009,
Pawlikowska et al 2010].
Rare extrahepatic findings can include the following:
Manifesting Heterozygotes
Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) manifests during pregnancy with pruritus, hepatic impairment, and cholestasis which usually resolves completely after delivery. While usually benign for the mother, adverse perinatal outcomes, such as fetal distress, premature birth, and stillbirth, can occur. ICP affects about 0.5%-4% of pregnancies, depending on the population.
Obligate heterozygotes for an ATP8B1 pathogenic variant associated with ATP8B1 deficiency have developed ICP [Clayton et al 1969, de Pagter et al 1976, Bull et al 1998, Dixon et al 2017].
Transient neonatal cholestasis. A case report suggests that ATP8B1 heterozygotes may be at increased risk for transient neonatal cholestasis [Jacquemin et al 2010].
Prevalence
Collectively, the estimated prevalence for all progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) disorders accompanied by high serum gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (γ-GT) levels and, in individuals with biallelic ABCB4 pathogenic variants (PFIC3) is estimated at 1:50,000 to 1:100,000 births [Srivastava 2014]. The exact prevalence of ATP8B1 deficiency remains unknown. Although it has been considered rare, misdiagnosis or imprecise diagnosis may have contributed to underestimation of prevalence.
First described as Byler disease in children of Amish descent [Clayton et al 1969], it has now been reported in individuals of all races and many ethnicities. Except for certain populations (e.g., the Amish and Inuit) with increased consanguinity and founder variants (see Table 8), no other populations are known to be at a higher risk for ATP8B1 deficiency.
Carrier frequencies for ATP8B1 deficiency are unknown, except in the Greenland Inuit in whom the carrier frequency of the pathogenic variant p.Asp554Asn varies regionally. In East Greenland, the high carrier frequencies – which reach 0.16 in Ittoqqortoormiit and 0.23 in Kuummiut – warrant routine screening [Eiberg & Nielsen 1993, Eiberg et al 2004, Nielsen & Eiberg 2004, Andersen et al 2006].