Corin Kelly

Common Severe Infections in Chronic Granulomatous Disease

BACKGROUND Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is due to defective nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase activity and characterized by recurrent infections with a limited spectrum of bacteria and fungi as well as inflammatory complications. To understand the impact of common severe infections in CGD, we examined the records of 268 patients followed at a single center over 4 decades. METHODS All patients had confirmed diagnoses of CGD, and genotype was determined where possible. Medical records were excerpted into a standard format. Microbiologic analyses were restricted to Staphylococcus, Burkholderia, Serratia, Nocardia, and Aspergillus. RESULTS Aspergillus incidence was estimated at 2.6 cases per 100 patient-years; Burkholderia, 1.06 per 100 patient-years; Nocardia, 0.81 per 100 patient-years; Serratia, 0.98 per 100 patient-years, and severe Staphylococcus infection, 1.44 per 100 patient-years. Lung infection occurred in 87% of patients, whereas liver abscess occurred in 32%. Aspergillus incidence was 55% in the lower superoxide-producing quartiles (quartiles 1 and 2) but only 41% in the higher quartiles (rate ratio, <0.0001). Aspergillus and Serratia were somewhat more common in lower superoxide producing gp91phox deficiency. The median age at death has increased from 15.53 years before 1990 to 28.12 years in the last decade. Fungal infection carried a higher risk of mortality than bacterial infection and was the most common cause of death (55%). Gastrointestinal complications were not associated with either infection or mortality. CONCLUSIONS Fungal infections remain a major determinant of survival in CGD. X-linked patients generally had more severe disease, and this was generally in those with lower residual superoxide production. Survival in CGD has increased over the years, but infections are still major causes of morbidity and mortality.

The CXCR4 antagonist plerixafor corrects panleukopenia in patients with WHIM syndrome

WHIM syndrome is a rare congenital immunodeficiency disorder characterized by warts, hypogammaglobulinemia, infections, and myelokathexis (neutropenia because of impaired egress from the BM); most patients also have severe panleukopenia. Because WHIM syndrome is caused by mutations in the chemokine receptor CXCR4 that result in increased agonist-dependent signaling, we hypothesized that the CXCR4 antagonist plerixafor (Mozobil [Genyzme Corporation], AMD3100), might be an effective treatment. To test this, we enrolled 3 unrelated adult patients with the most common WHIM mutation, CXCR4(R334X), in a phase 1 dose-escalation study. Plerixafor increased absolute lymphocyte, monocyte, and neutrophil counts in blood to normal without significant side effects in all 3 patients. Peak responses occurred at 3-12 hours after injection and waned by 24 hours after injection which tracked the drugs pharmacokinetics. All 3 cell types increased in a dose-dependent manner with the rank order of responsiveness absolute lymphocyte > monocyte > neutrophil. These data provide the first pharmacologic evidence that panleukopenia in WHIM syndrome is caused by CXCL12-CXCR4 signaling-dependent leukocyte sequestration, and support continued study of plerixafor as mechanism-based therapy in this disease. This study is registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00967785.

WHIM syndrome caused by a single amino acid substitution in the carboxy-tail of chemokine receptor CXCR4

WHIM syndrome is a rare, autosomal dominant, immunodeficiency disorder so-named because it is characterized by warts, hypogammaglobulinemia, infections, and myelokathexis (defective neutrophil egress from the BM). Gain-of-function mutations that truncate the C-terminus of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 by 10-19 amino acids cause WHIM syndrome. We have identified a family with autosomal dominant inheritance of WHIM syndrome that is caused by a missense mutation in CXCR4, E343K (1027G → A). This mutation is also located in the C-terminal domain, a region responsible for negative regulation of the receptor. Accordingly, like CXCR4(R334X), the most common truncation mutation in WHIM syndrome, CXCR4(E343K) mediated approximately 2-fold increased signaling in calcium flux and chemotaxis assays relative to wild-type CXCR4; however, CXCR4(E343K) had a reduced effect on blocking normal receptor down-regulation from the cell surface. Therefore, in addition to truncating mutations in the C-terminal domain of CXCR4, WHIM syndrome may be caused by a single charge-changing amino acid substitution in this domain, E343K, that results in increased receptor signaling.

AMD3100 is a Potent Antagonist at CXCR4R334X, a Hyperfunctional Mutant Chemokine Receptor and Cause of WHIM Syndrome

WHIM is an acronym for a rare immunodeficiency syndrome (OMIM #193670) caused by autosomal dominant mutations truncating the C‐terminus of the chemokine receptor CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4). WHIM mutations may potentiate CXCR4 signalling, suggesting that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)‐approved CXCR4 antagonist AnorMED3100 (AMD3100) (also known as Plerixafor) may be beneficial in WHIM syndrome. We have tested this at the preclinical level by comparing Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) and K562 cell lines matched for expression of recombinant wild‐type CXCR4 (CXCR4WT) and the most common WHIM variant of CXCR4 (CXCR4R334X), as well as leucocytes from a WHIM patient with the CXCR4R334X mutation versus healthy controls. We found that CXCR4R334X mediated modestly increased signalling (∼2‐fold) in all functional assays tested, but strongly resisted ligand‐dependent down‐regulation. AMD3100 was equipotent and equieffective as an antagonist at CXCR4R334X and CXCR4WT. Together, our data provide further evidence that CXCR4R334X is a gain‐of‐function mutation, and support clinical evaluation of AMD3100 as mechanism‐based treatment in patients with WHIM syndrome.

Caspase-8 deficiency presenting as late-onset multi-organ lymphocytic infiltration with granulomas in two adult siblings

Caspase-8 deficiency (CED) was originally described in 2002 in two pediatric patients presenting with clinical manifestations resembling autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) accompanied by infections, and T, B and NK cell defects. Since then, no new CED patients were published. Here we report two adult siblings (Pt1 and Pt2) presenting in their late thirties with pulmonary hypertension leading to lung transplant (Pt1), and a complex neurological disease leading to multiple cranial nerves palsies (Pt2) as their main manifestations. A thorough clinical and immunological evaluation was performed at the Primary Immunodeficiency Clinic at NIH, followed by whole exome sequencing. The patients had multiorgan lymphocytic infiltration and granulomas, as well as clinical signs of immune deficiency/ immune dysregulation. Both siblings carried homozygous mutations in CASP8, c.1096C > T, p.248R > W. This was the same mutation described on the previously published CED patients, to whom these new patients were likely distantly related. We report two new CED patients presenting during adulthood with life-threatening end-organ lymphocyte infiltrates affecting the lungs, liver, spleen, bone marrow and central nervous system. This phenotype broadens the clinical spectrum of manifestations associated with this disease and warrants the search of CASP8 mutations in other cohorts of patients.