Vnitr Lek 2025, 71(4):E1-E7 | DOI: 10.36290/vnl.2025.051

Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency - Characteristics, Diagnosis, Monitoring and Therapy of Patients in the Czech Republic

Libor Nevoránek, Marek Kvarda, Matyáš Wanke, Jiří Ruta, Vladimír Koblížek

Centrum pro deficit alfa-1 antitrypsinu, Plicní klinika FN a LF UK Hradec Králové

Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is one of the most common inherited genetic disorders in adults worldwide, affecting not only lung function but also liver tissue and, rarely, the skin. It is still a significantly underdiagnosed diagnosis (1, 2). First described more than 60 years ago by scientists at Lund University in Sweden, it is caused by a defect in the serine protease inhibitor group A1 gene (SERPINA1, chromosome 14q32.13, wild-type M), which codes for the production of alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT), the major antiprotease in the lungs (3). In AATD, less AAT is produced, insufficient AAT is produced, or no AAT is produced. Inadequate/faulty AAT production in the liver leading to lower serum levels, logically leads to lower AAT concentrations in the lungs, causing earlier onset of panacinar emphysema, bronchiectasis (BE) and subsequently chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The eventual accumulation of defective proteins in the liver leads to cholestasis in childhood and to an increased risk of cirrhosis or even carcinoma (CA) of the liver later in life. The abovementioned lung diseases are caused by the predominance of proteases over the effect of serine protease inhibitors, the production of which is deficient in carriers of defective alleles (4-6). Smoking significantly accelerates the pathological processes in the lungs, which also occur in the non-smoking population with AATD, but at a much slower rate than in smokers. Particularly in carriers of the homozygous PiZZ and Pi00 (Pi - proteinase inhibitor) variants, smoking leads to a relatively early and severe reduction in serum AAT levels. The current approach to patients with AATD is to diagnose the disease at an early stage, monitor the disease over time and determine the correct timing of therapy, including augmentation therapy (4, 7, 8).

Keywords: alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, SERPINA1, COPD, smoking.

Accepted: June 5, 2025; Published: June 19, 2025  Show citation