Outcomes of 159 young patients with inherited metabolic disorders (IMDs) undergoing transplantation with partially HLA-mismatched unrelated donor umbilical cord blood were studied to investigate the ...impact of graft and patient characteristics on engraftment, overall survival (OS), and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Patients received myeloablative chemotherapy (busulfan, cyclophosphamide, ATG) and cyclosporine-based GVHD prophylaxis. Infused cell doses were high (7.57 × 107/kg) because of the patients' young age (median, 1.5 years) and small size (median, 12 kg). Median follow-up was 4.2 years (range, 1-11 years). The cumulative incidences of neutrophil and platelet engraftment were 87.1% (95% confidence interval CI, 81.8%-92.4%) and 71.0% (95% CI, 63.7%-78.3%). A total of 97% achieved high (> 90%) donor chimerism. Serum enzyme normalized in 97% of patients with diseases for which testings exist. Grade III/IV acute GVHD occurred in 10.3% (95% CI, 5.4%-15.2%) of patients. Extensive chronic GVHD occurred in 10.8% (95% CI, 5.7%-15.9%) of patients by 1 year. OS at 1 and 5 years was 71.8% (95% CI, 64.7%-78.9%) and 58.2% (95% CI, 49.7%-66.6%) in all patients and 84.5% (95% CI, 77.0%-92.0%) and 75.7% (95% CI, 66.1%-85.3%) in patients with high (80-100) performance score. In multivariate analysis, favorable factors for OS were high pretransplantation performance status, matched donor/recipient ethnicity, and higher infused colony forming units.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Purpose
Adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency causes severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) through an accumulation of toxic metabolites within lymphocytes. Recently, ADA deficiency has been ...successfully treated using lentiviral-transduced autologous CD34+ cells carrying the ADA gene. T and B cell function appears to be fully restored, but in many patients’ B cell numbers remain low, and assessments of the immunoglobulin heavy (IgHV) repertoire following gene therapy are lacking.
Methods
We performed deep sequencing of IgHV repertoire in peripheral blood lymphocytes from a child following lentivirus-based gene therapy for ADA deficiency and compared to the IgHV repertoire in healthy infants and adults.
Results
After gene therapy, Ig diversity increased over time as evidenced by V, D, and J gene usage, N-additions, CDR3 length, extent of somatic hypermutation, and Ig class switching. There was the emergence of predominant IgHM, IgHG, and IgHA CDR3 lengths after gene therapy indicating successful oligoclonal expansion in response to antigens. This provides proof of concept for the feasibility and utility of molecular monitoring in following B cell reconstitution following gene therapy for ADA deficiency.
Conclusion
Based on deep sequencing, gene therapy resulted in an IgHV repertoire with molecular diversity similar to healthy infants.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Biallelic variations in the dedicator of cytokinesis 8 (DOCK8) gene cause a combined immunodeficiency with eczema, recurrent bacterial and viral infections, and malignancy. Natural disease outcome is ...dismal, but allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can cure the disease.
To determine outcome of HSCT for DOCK8 deficiency and define possible outcome variables.
We performed a retrospective study of the results of HSCT in a large international cohort of DOCK8-deficient patients.
We identified 81 patients from 22 centers transplanted at a median age of 9.7 years (range, 0.7-27.2 years) between 1995 and 2015. After median follow-up of 26 months (range, 3-135 months), 68 (84%) patients are alive. Severe acute (III-IV) or chronic graft versus host disease occurred in 11% and 10%, respectively. Causes of death were infections (n = 5), graft versus host disease (5), multiorgan failure (2), and preexistent lymphoma (1). Survival after matched related (n = 40) or unrelated (35) HSCT was 89% and 81%, respectively. Reduced-toxicity conditioning based on either treosulfan or reduced-dose busulfan resulted in superior survival compared with fully myeloablative busulfan-based regimens (97% vs 78%; P = .049). Ninety-six percent of patients younger than 8 years at HSCT survived, compared with 78% of those 8 years and older (P = .06). Of the 73 patients with chimerism data available, 65 (89%) had more than 90% donor T-cell chimerism at last follow-up. Not all disease manifestations responded equally well to HSCT: eczema, infections, and mollusca resolved quicker than food allergies or failure to thrive.
HSCT is curative in most DOCK8-deficient patients, confirming this approach as the treatment of choice. HSCT using a reduced-toxicity regimen may offer the best chance for survival.
IMPORTANCE: Studies demonstrating improved survival after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant generally exclude infants. OBJECTIVE: To analyze overall survival trends and other outcomes among ...infants who undergo allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In this cohort study, we used time-trend analysis to evaluate 3 periods: 2000 through 2004, 2005 through 2009, and 2010 through 2014. The study was conducted in a multicenter setting through the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, which is made up of a voluntary working group of more than 450 transplant centers worldwide. Two groups of infants aged 1 year or younger in 2 cohorts were included: those with malignant conditions, such as leukemia, and those with nonmalignant disorders, including immunodeficiencies. Data analysis was conducted from July 2017 to December 2018. EXPOSURES: Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Survival trends, disease relapse, and toxicity. RESULTS: A total of 2498 infants with a median age of 7 months (range, <1-12 months) were included. In the nonmalignant cohort (n = 472), survival rates improved from the first to the second period (hazard ratio, 0.77 95% CI, 0.63-0.93; P = .007) but did not change after 2004. Compared with infants with nonmalignant diseases (n = 2026; 3-year overall survival: 2000-2004, 375/577 65.0%; 2005-2009, 503/699 72.0%; and 2010-2014, 555/750 74.0%), those with malignant conditions had poorer survival rates, without improvement over time (3-year overall survival: 2000-2004, 109/199 54.8%; 2005-2009, 104/161 64.6%; and 2010-2014, 66/112 58.9%). From 2000 through 2014, relapse rates increased in infants with malignant conditions (3-year relapse rate: 2000-2004, 19% 95% CI, 14%-25%; 2005-2009, 23% 95% CI, 17%-30%; 2010-2014, 36% 95% CI, 27%-46%; P = .01). Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome was frequent, occurring with a cumulative incidence of 13% (95% CI, 11%-16%) of infants with nonmalignant diseases and 32% (95% CI, 22%-42%) of those with malignant diseases. Generally, recipients of human leukocyte antigen–identical sibling bone marrow grafts had the best outcomes. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Survival rates have not improved for infants with malignant diseases over the 15-year study period. Infants with nonmalignant diseases had improved survival rates in the earlier but not the later study period. Higher relapses for the malignant cohort and toxicities for all infants remain significant challenges. Strategies to reduce relapse and toxicity and optimize donor and graft selection may improve outcomes in the future.
Fever is common in children undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Empiric antibiotic (EA) therapy is initiated and often continued until neutrophil engraftment. Prolonged antibiotic ...exposure reduces microbiome diversity and causes overgrowth of pathogenic organisms, leading to such complications as infections from antibiotic-resistant organisms and Clostridium difficile colitis. Shorter courses of EA therapy have been studied in adults undergoing HCT without significant safety concerns, but data in children are lacking. We instituted a single-center preintervention/ postintervention quality improvement (QI) project to assess the feasibility of short-course EA therapy for first fever in patients undergoing HCT. We aimed to reduce the median duration of broad-spectrum antibiotic use in eligible patients from 20 days in 2020 to 10 days in 2021. Patients were eligible for the intervention, limiting EAs to 7 days for first fever, if they were admitted for their first allogeneic HCT, were afebrile for >24 hours, had no infection requiring systemic treatment, and were hemodynamically stable. Outcome measures included days of EA therapy for first fever and total broad-spectrum antibiotic use during the period of hospitalization, defined as the time from the start of conditioning to 30 days after HCT or hospital discharge, whichever occurred first. Balancing measures included bloodstream infection (BSI), fever, and intensive care (ICU) admission within 3 days of stopping EA therapy. Project criteria were applied retrospectively to patients who underwent HCT in 2020 to construct a preintervention short-course-eligible cohort. During the intervention period, 41 patients underwent allogeneic HCT, of whom 17 (41%) were eligible for short-course EA therapy. Among eligible patients, the median age was 5.3 years, 47% had an underlying malignancy, and 88% received myeloablative conditioning. There were no differences in demographic or HCT characteristics between patients eligible for short-course EA during the intervention and preintervention period (n = 24). The short-course EA schedule was adhered to by 14 of the 17 eligible patients (82%). The duration of EA for first fever and total broad-spectrum antibiotic use was significantly decreased in the short-course EA-eligible patients compared to the preintervention cohort, from a median of 17 days to 8 days and from 20 days to 10 days, respectively (P < .01). Of the 14 patients adhering to short-course EA, 2 experienced a balancing measure of recurrent fever requiring resumption of EA, but no infection was identified. There were no BSIs, ICU admissions, or deaths during the hospitalization period in patients who received short-course EA. In this single-center QI project, short-course EA for initial fever was successfully applied to children undergoing allogeneic HCT using strict criteria and led to a significant decrease in broad-spectrum antibiotic use during hospitalization. These results should be validated in a prospective clinical trial to include the impact of short-course EA on antibiotic-resistant organisms, the intestinal microbiome, and HCT outcomes.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Limited data exists regarding immune status of CD40L deficiency carriers and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) outcomes utilizing them as donors for CD40L deficiency patients. We, ...therefore, studied immune profile of seven carriers, four of whom were HSCT donors for family members with CD40L deficiency and characterized these HSCT outcomes. Immunoglobulin profile, CD4, CD8, circulating T-follicular helper (cTfh), and regulatory T cells (Tregs) in carriers were comparable to healthy controls. CD40L expression in carriers ranged from 37-78%. cTfh cells from carriers expressed higher CD40L compared to total CD4 or memory CD4 compartment, suggesting a potential advantage to CD40L expressing cTfh cells. Tregs had minimal CD40L expression in carriers and healthy controls. Thereby, we postulated that HSCT utilizing CD40L carrier donors may result in excellent immune reconstitution without immune dysregulation. Four CD40L deficiency patients underwent HSCT from carriers with CD40L expression from 37-63%. All patients engrafted, achieved excellent immune reconstitution with lack of opportunistic infections, GVHD, immune dysregulation and stable CD40L expression mimicking that of donors 1-5 years post-HSCT. Immunoglobulin independence was achieved in three of the four patients. We demonstrate higher CD40L expression in carriers’ cTfh compartment and excellent immune reconstitution using carrier donors in CD40L deficiency patients.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is curative for primary immunodeficiencies. Bone marrow from an unaffected human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐identical sibling donor is the ideal graft ...source. For minor donors, meaningful consent or assent may not be feasible, and permission from parents or legal guardians is considered acceptable. Adverse events, albeit extremely small, can be associated with bone marrow harvest in pediatric donors. Donor safety concerns potentially increase with multiple bone marrow harvests. Very little is known about multiple bone marrow harvests from pediatric donors. We describe the ethical considerations and clinical decision‐making in an unusual clinical situation where three patients with the same primary immunodeficiency were HLA identical to one another and their younger sibling, who underwent bone marrow harvests three times between 1.3 and 4 years of age, resulting in successful transplantation for all three patients. We hope that this experience will provide guidance to providers and families in a similar situation.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from siblings, unrelated donors or HLA mismatched family members has become an important procedure to offer a chance of cure to children and ...adolescents with acute leukemia at high risk of relapse and those with certain genetic diseases. Bone marrow (BM) was the only stem cell source for many years. During the past 15 years, peripheral blood stem cells from granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) mobilized healthy donors, or umbilical cord blood from related or unrelated donors, have become available. Each stem cell source has different risks/benefits for patients and donors, the choice depending not only on availability, but also on HLA compatibility and urgency of the HSCT. This review will analyze the advantages and limitations of each of these options, and the main criteria which can be applied when choosing the appropriate stem cell source for pediatric transplant recipients with acute leukemia.
The use of HSCT is the only potentially curative treatment for CAMT, but access is limited by the availability of suitable donors. We report five consecutive patients with CAMT who received MAC and ...partially HLA‐mismatched, UCBT (unrelated, n = 4). Median times to neutrophil (>500/μL) and platelet (≥20 000 and ≥50 000/μL) engraftment were 19, 57, and 70 days, respectively. Acute GvHD, grade II, developed in one patient, who subsequently developed limited chronic GvHD. At median follow‐up of 14 yr, all patients are alive with sustained donor cell engraftment. To our knowledge, this is the largest single‐center series of UCBT for patients with this disease and suggests that UCBT is a successful curative option for patients with CAMT.
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DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK