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T Cell Impairment Is Predictive for a Severe Clinical Course in NEMO Deficiency

Heller S, Kölsch U, Magg T, Krüger R, Scheuern A, Schneider H, Eichinger A, Wahn V, Unterwalder N, Lorenz M, Schwarz K, Meisel C, Schulz A, Hauck F, von Bernuth H (2020)

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Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2020

Journal

DOI: 10.1007/s10875-019-00728-y

Abstract

Purpose: NEMO-deficient patients present with variable degrees of immunodeficiency. Accordingly, treatment ranges from antibiotic prophylaxis and/or IgG-substitution to allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The correct estimation of the immunodeficiency is essential to avoid over- as well as under-treatment. We compare the immunological phenotype of a NEMO-deficient patient with a newly-described splice site mutation that causes truncation of the NEMO zinc-finger (ZF) domain and a severe clinical course with the immunological phenotype of three NEMO-deficient patients with missense mutations and milder clinical courses and all previously published patients. Methods: Lymphocyte subsets, proliferation, and intracellular NEMO-expression were assessed by FACS. NF-κB signal transduction was determined by measuring IκBα-degradation and the production of cytokines upon stimulation with TNF-α, IL-1β, and TLR-agonists in immortalized fibroblasts and whole blood, respectively. Results: The patient with truncated ZF-domain of NEMO showed low levels of IgM and IgG, reduced class-switched memory B cells, almost complete skewing towards naïve CD45RA⁺ T cells, impaired T cell proliferation as well as cytokine production upon stimulation with TNF-α, IL-1β, and TLR-agonists. He suffered from severe infections (sepsis, pneumonia, osteomyelitis) during infancy. In contrast, three patients with missense mutations in IKBKG presented neither skewing of T cells towards naïvety nor impaired T cell proliferation. They are stable on prophylactic IgG-substitution or even off any prophylactic treatment. Conclusion: The loss of the ZF-domain and the impaired T cell proliferation accompanied by almost complete persistence of naïve T cells despite severe infections are suggestive for a profound immunodeficiency. Allogenic HSCT should be considered early for these patients before chronic sequelae occur.

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APA:

Heller, S., Kölsch, U., Magg, T., Krüger, R., Scheuern, A., Schneider, H.,... von Bernuth, H. (2020). T Cell Impairment Is Predictive for a Severe Clinical Course in NEMO Deficiency. Journal of Clinical Immunology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10875-019-00728-y

MLA:

Heller, Stephanie, et al. "T Cell Impairment Is Predictive for a Severe Clinical Course in NEMO Deficiency." Journal of Clinical Immunology (2020).

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