Clinical Description
Alagille syndrome (ALGS) is a multisystem disorder with a wide spectrum of clinical variability ranging from life-threatening liver or cardiac disease to only subclinical manifestations (e.g., butterfly vertebrae, posterior embryotoxon, characteristic facial features) [Mitchell et al 2018, Kohut et al 2021]. Some individuals present with an isolated feature (e.g., cardiac disease, aneurysmal disease) [Gilbert & Loomes 2021, Althali & Hentges 2022, Rodrigues Bento et al 2022]. Clinical variability is seen even among individuals from the same family [Kamath et al 2003].
To date, more than 700 individuals with ALGS have been found to have a pathogenic variant in JAG1 or NOTCH2 [Gilbert et al 2019]. Table 2 lists the phenotypic features associated with this condition.
Table 2.
Alagille Syndrome: Frequency of Select Features
View in own window
Feature | % of Persons w/Feature | Comment |
---|
Hepatic abnormality
| 95% | Bile duct paucity; conjugated hyperbilirubinemia; chronic cholestasis characterized by pruritus, xanthomas, & fat-soluble vitamin deficiencies; end-stage liver disease |
Cardiac manifestations
| 90%-97% | Most commonly including peripheral pulmonary stenosis & tetralogy of Fallot |
Posterior embryotoxon
| 78%-89% | |
Vertebral anomalies
| 33%-93% | |
Characteristic facies
| 20%-90% | |
Renal manifestations
| 39% | Renal malformations & kidney disease |
Vascular
| 15%-30% | Intracranial bleeds, systemic vascular anomalies, & other, including moyamoya disease |
Onset. Individuals with ALGS who have severe liver or cardiac involvement are most often diagnosed in infancy. In those individuals with subclinical or mild hepatic manifestations, the diagnosis may not be established until later in life.
Hepatic manifestations. While some individuals with JAG1 or NOTCH2 pathogenic variants have no detectable hepatic manifestations, in most affected people, liver disease presents within the first three months of life. In a recent report on a large cohort of children with ALGS, 85% had a history of neonatal cholestasis [Gilbert & Loomes 2021, Althali & Hentges 2022, Rodrigues Bento et al 2022, Vandriel et al 2023]. The severity of liver disease ranges from asymptomatic elevations of liver enzymes to jaundice, chronic cholestasis, and end-stage liver disease. The high prevalence of liver disease in some series is likely affected by ascertainment bias; individuals with liver disease are more readily identified by gastroenterologists and/or hepatologists. In other series, in which enrollment is not driven by organ system, a lower rate of liver disease has been observed (e.g., 61% of individuals with ALGS were reported to have liver disease in a study by da Palma et al [2021]).
Jaundice and conjugated hyperbilirubinemia may be present in the neonatal period. Increased serum concentrations of bile acids, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, triglycerides, and the aminotransferases are also commonly observed. Impaired bile salt secretion can lead to fat-soluble vitamin deficiencies and malnutrition.
Cholestasis manifests as pruritus, increased serum concentration of bile acids, growth failure, and xanthomas. Pruritus is reported to occur in 74% of children at a median age of onset of 12 months [Vandriel et al 2023]. Xanthomas are reported to occur in 24% of children with ALGS with a median age of onset of 25 months [Vandriel et al 2023]. A recent report indicated that 50.4% of individuals with a history of neonatal cholestasis will undergo a liver transplant by age 18 years. The median age for liver transplant was age 2.8 years, with 72% occurring in the first five years of life [Vandriel et al 2023]. The primary indication for liver transplant included cholestasis (72%) and portal hypertension (30%) [Vandriel et al 2023]. Portal hypertension as the primary indication for liver transplant was more common in older individuals. More than half of individuals had more than one indication for transplant. Survival after transplant was 88% at age 20 years [Vandriel et al 2023]. While it is difficult to predict whether a child with cholestasis will have improvement or progression of liver disease, a total bilirubin of <5.0 mg/dL between age six and 12 months was associated with better native liver survival [Mouzaki et al 2016, Vandriel et al 2023].
Liver biopsy typically shows paucity of the intrahepatic bile ducts, which may be progressive. In infants younger than age six months, bile duct paucity is not always present, and the liver biopsy may demonstrate ductal proliferation, resulting in the possible misdiagnosis of ALGS as biliary atresia.
An increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been identified in children and adults with JAG1- and NOTCH2-related ALGS, even in the absence of additional features of ALGS [Schindler et al 2021, Vázquez Rodríguez et al 2022]. This suggests that individuals with ALGS and apparently nonpenetrant family members with the ALGS-related JAG1 or NOTCH2 pathogenic variant should undergo surveillance for early detection of HCC.
Cardiovascular manifestations. The pulmonary vasculature (pulmonary valve, pulmonary artery, and its branches) is most commonly involved, with structural abnormalities seen in up to 94% of individuals [Kohut et al 2021]. Pulmonic stenosis (peripheral and branch) is the most common cardiac finding (67%) [Emerick et al 1999]. The most common complex cardiac defect is tetralogy of Fallot, seen in 7%-16% of individuals [Emerick et al 1999]. Other cardiac malformations include (in order of decreasing frequency) ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect, aortic stenosis, and coarctation of the aorta [Tretter & McElhinney 2018].
Other vascular abnormalities. Neurovascular accidents, reported at rates as high as 15% [Emerick et al 1999], accounted for 34% of mortality in one large study [Kamath et al 2004, Kohut et al 2021]. Renovascular anomalies, middle aortic syndrome, and moyamoya disease [Woolfenden et al 1999, Rocha et al 2012] have been reported. Anomalies of the basilar, carotid, and middle cerebral arteries also occur [Kamath et al 2004, Emerick et al 2005]. Affected individuals with a JAG1 pathogenic variant from two unrelated families had isolated aneurysmal disease without other features of ALGS, demonstrating variable expressivity of ALGS [Rodrigues Bento et al 2022].
Ophthalmologic manifestations. The most common ophthalmologic finding in individuals with ALGS is posterior embryotoxon. Posterior embryotoxon, a prominent Schwalbe ring, is a defect of the anterior chamber of the eye. Most accurately identified on slit lamp examination, posterior embryotoxon does not affect visual acuity but is useful as a diagnostic aid. Posterior embryotoxon is also present in approximately 8%-15% of individuals in the general population.
Other defects of the anterior chamber seen in individuals with ALGS include Axenfeld anomaly and Rieger anomaly. Ocular ultrasonographic examination in 20 children with ALGS found optic disk drusen in 90%. Retinal pigmentary changes are also common (32% in one study) [Hingorani et al 1999, El-Koofy et al 2011]. Additional eye anomalies have also been described [Makino et al 2012].
While for many individuals the visual prognosis is good, recently additional abnormalities have been recognized such as peripheral chorioretinal changes (including atrophy with accompanying loss of function in the visual field) and other retinal pigmentary changes, macular atrophy, and progressive decreases in vision in some individuals [da Palma et al 2021, Paez-Escamilla et al 2022].
Skeletal manifestations. The most common radiographic finding is butterfly vertebrae, a clefting abnormality of the vertebral bodies that occurs most often in the thoracic vertebrae. Butterfly vertebrae are usually asymptomatic. The incidence in the general population is unknown but suspected to be low.
Other skeletal manifestations in individuals with ALGS have been reported less frequently [Zanotti & Canalis 2010]. Craniosynostosis (unilateral coronal) has been reported in 0.9% of individuals with ALGS, compared to 0.03% in the normal population [Kamath et al 2002, Yilmaz et al 2013]. Individuals with ALGS have a high risk for bone fractures with significant bone mineral deficiency, quantified by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) analysis [Loomes et al 2019].
Facial features. The constellation of facial features observed in children with ALGS includes a broad forehead, deep-set eyes with moderate hypertelorism, pointed chin, and a concave or straight nasal ridge with a bulbous tip. These features give the face the appearance of an inverted triangle. The typical facial features are almost universally present in ALGS (see ). Additional features include oral and dental manifestations such as jaw morphology alterations, abnormal dental structure, tooth discoloration, and gingival inflammation, hypothesized to be a result of exposure to high levels of bilirubin during timing of dental calcification and/or treatment-associated medications [Reynal et al 2023].
Although the facial phenotype in ALGS is specific to the syndrome and is often a powerful diagnostic tool, Lin et al [2012] showed that North American dysmorphologists had difficulty assessing the facial features in a cohort of Vietnamese children with ALGS, suggesting that the value of this diagnostic tool is variable across populations.
Renal abnormalities can include both structural (small hyperechoic kidney, ureteropelvic obstruction, renal cysts) and functional (most commonly renal tubular acidosis). Renal dysplasia is the most common renal abnormality, followed by renal tubular acidosis [Kohut et al 2021]. Hypertension and renal artery stenosis have also been noted in adults with ALGS [Salem et al 2012].
Growth failure has been observed in up to 50%-90% of individuals with ALGS; although not well understood, it has been attributed to malnutrition/malabsorption as well as cholestasis [Emerick et al 1999, Arvay et al 2005, Kamath et al 2015].
Neurodevelopmental manifestations. Mild delays of gross motor skills were identified in 16% of affected individuals. Mild intellectual disability was identified in 2% by Emerick et al [1999]. Individuals with ALGS are at an increased risk for attention and executive function impairment, and early screening for identification of these deficits is recommended to maximize developmental outcomes [Leung et al 2022].
Other features
Life span in ALGS may be reduced, with the primary cause of death occurring from liver transplant-related complications, cardiac disease, severe liver disease, and intracranial bleeding [Emerick et al 1999, Kamath et al 2004, Cho et al 2015, Vandriel et al 2023]. A recent study reported an overall mortality rate of 8.5%, with the majority occurring in the first five years of life [Vandriel et al 2023].