Combined malonic and methylmalonic aciduria (CMAMMA), also called combined malonic and methylmalonic acidemia is an inherited metabolic disease characterized by elevated levels of malonic acid and methylmalonic acid. Some researchers have hypothesized that CMAMMA might be one of the most common forms of methylmalonic acidemia, and possibly one of the most common inborn errors of metabolism. Due to being infrequently diagnosed, it most often goes undetected. Symptoms and signs
The clinical phenotypes of CMAMMA are highly heterogeneous and range from asymptomatic, mild to severe symptoms. The underlying pathophysiology is not yet understood. The following symptoms are reported in the literature:

metabolic acidosis
coma
hypoglycemia
seizures
gastrointestinal disease
developmental delay
speech delay
failure to thrive
psychiatric disease
memory problems
cognitive decline
encephalopathy
cardiomyopathy
dysmorphic featuresWhen the first symptoms appear in childhood, they are more likely to be intermediary metabolic disorders, whereas in adults they are usually neurological symptoms. Causes
CMAMMA can be divided by causation into two separate inherited disorders: one is a deficiency of the mitochondrial enzyme acyl-CoA synthetase family member 3, encoded by the ACSF3 gene (OMIM#614265); the other disorder is a malonyl-CoA decarboxylase deficiency encoded by the MLYCD gene (OMIM#248360). ACSF3 deficiency
CMAMMA due to ACSF3 is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. The ACSF3 gene is located on chromosome 16 locus q24.3 and consists of 11 exons and encodes a 576-amino-acid protein. CMAMMA can be caused by homozygous or compound heterozygous variants in the ACSF3 gene. Based on minor allele frequency (MAF), a population incidence of ~ 1: 30 000 can be predicted for CMAMMA due to ACSF3.
Malonyl-CoA decarboxylase deficiency
CMAMMA due to malonyl-CoA decarboxylase is also inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. The MLYCD gene is located on chromosome 16 locus q23.3. Pathophysiology
ACSF3
ACSF3 encodes an acyl-CoA synthetase, which is localized in the mitochondria and has a high specificity for malonic acid and methylmalonic acid. Thus, the synthetase catalyzes the synthesis of malonyl-CoA as well as methylmalonyl-CoA. Malonic acid
The conversion of malonic acid to malonyl-CoA by acyl-CoA synthetase represents the first step in the mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis (mtFASII) pathway, which plays an important role in the regulation of energy metabolism and which should not be confused with the more familiar fatty acid synthesis that occurs in the cytoplasm. The dysfunctional mtFASII pathway leads to an accumulation of malonic acid, which has a competitive inhibitory effect on complex II, and also leads to a deficiency of malonyl-CoA. These deficiencies can be continued to the end-product of the mtFASII pathway, octanoyl-ACP. The consequences of this are diminished oxidative phosphorylation and major alterations in complex lipids, such as increased levels of sphingomyelins and cardiolipins and lower levels of phosphatidylcholines, phosphatidylglycerol and ceramides. Since octanoyl-ACP is the direct precursor in lipoic acid synthesis, this results in diminished lipoylation, since lipoic acid acts as an essential cofactor for several mitochondrial multienzyme complexes, such as pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC) and α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (α-KGDHC), among others. This diminished lipoylation also leads to a reduced glycolytic flux.