Whilst upregulation of type I interferon (IFN) signaling is common across the type I interferonopathies (T1Is), central nervous system (CNS) involvement varies between these disorders, the basis of ...which remains unclear. We collected cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum from patients with Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS), STING-associated vasculopathy with onset in infancy (SAVI), presumed monogenic T1Is (pT1I), childhood systemic lupus erythematosus with neuropsychiatric features (nSLE), non-IFN-related autoinflammation (AI) and non-inflammatory hydrocephalus (as controls). We measured IFN-alpha protein using digital ELISA. Eighty-two and 63 measurements were recorded respectively in CSF and serum of 42 patients and 6 controls. In an intergroup comparison (taking one sample per individual), median CSF IFN-alpha levels were elevated in AGS, SAVI, pT1I, and nSLE compared to AI and controls, with levels highest in AGS compared to all other groups. In AGS, CSF IFN-alpha concentrations were higher than in paired serum samples. In contrast, serum IFN was consistently higher compared to CSF levels in SAVI, pT1I, and nSLE. Whilst IFN-alpha is present in the CSF and serum of all IFN-related diseases studied here, our data suggest the primary sites of IFN production in the monogenic T1I AGS and SAVI are, respectively, the CNS and the periphery. These results inform the diagnosis of, and future therapeutic approaches to, monogenic and multifactorial T1Is.
Three patients with Chediak-Higashi syndrome underwent allogeneic bone marrow transplantation between the ages of 2 years 9 months and 7 years. The outcome was uneventful, with sustained mixed ...chimerism. No subsequent recurrent infections or hemophagocytic syndrome were observed. At the age of 22 to 24 years, these 3 patients developed a neurologic deficit combining difficulty walking, loss of balance, and tremor. Neurologic evaluation demonstrated cerebellar ataxia and signs of peripheral neuropathy. Moderate axon loss and rarefaction of large myelinated fibers were observed on semithin sections of peripheral nerve. Cerebellar atrophy was detected by cerebral magnetic resonance imaging in 2 patients. We also reviewed the very long-term outcome of the other 11 patients with Chediak-Higashi syndrome who had received bone marrow transplants at our center since 1981. All displayed neurologic deficits or low cognitive abilities.
Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) have potent immunological functions in experimental conditions in mice, but their contributions to immunity in natural conditions in humans have remained unclear. We ...investigated the presence of ILCs in a cohort of patients with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). All ILC subsets were absent in patients with SCID who had mutation of the gene encoding the common γ-chain cytokine receptor subunit IL-2Rγ or the gene encoding the tyrosine kinase JAK3. T cell reconstitution was observed in patients with SCID after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), but the patients still had considerably fewer ILCs in the absence of myeloablation than did healthy control subjects, with the exception of rare cases of reconstitution of the ILC1 subset of ILCs. Notably, the ILC deficiencies observed were not associated with any particular susceptibility to disease, with follow-up extending from 7 years to 39 years after HSCT. We thus report here selective ILC deficiency in humans and show that ILCs might be dispensable in natural conditions, if T cells are present and B cell function is preserved.
The CEC count was persistently higher at day 30 in patients with VE (median = 98/mL; range: 1-548) as compared to patients without VE (median = 4/mL; range: 2-52; P = .002) (Fig 1, A). ...the ...increase of CEC counts was significantly higher in patients with VE during the first month post-transplant (median δD0-D30 = 92; range: 16.5-547; P = .007) as compared to patients without (Fig 1, B).  No vascular event (n = 23) Vascular event (n = 11) Total patients (n = 34) Sex ratio female/male 9/14 3/8 12/22 Age: median (range) 3 y (0.5-14 y) 0.9 y (0.25-9 y) 3 and 5 y (0.25-14 y) Diagnosis    SCID 6 2 8 CID 8 5 13 HLH 5 3 8 Neutrophil disorders 3 1 5 Donor    Matched sibling donor 7 0 7 MUD 7 5 12 MMUD 4 2 6 Haploidentical donor 5 4 9 Defibrotide conditioning regimen 8 9 17 Bu/Flu/ATG 16 6 22 Bu/Flu/ThioTEPA/ATG 6 5 11 Mel/Flu/Alemtuzumab 1 0 1 Graft characteristics    In vitro T-depletion 5 6 11 No in vitro T-depletion 18 5 23 CD34 cell dose (106/kg) 8.2 (1.4-24.2) 13 (5-24.2) 10.5 (1.4-24.2) Engraftment day 19 (9-49) 18.5 (13-31) 19 (9-49) Rejection 2 1 3 GVHD 8 3 11 Grade 1-2 6 1 7 Grade 3-4 2 2 4 Time onset (days) 16.5 (2-60) 27 (10-47) 17 (2-60) CMV systemic replication 4 3 7 Severe sepsis 2 1 3 Duration of hospitalization post-HSCT (days) 78 (38-212) 92 (56-155) 83 (38-212) Death 3 5 8 Table I Hematopoietic transplantation characteristics For CD34 number, engraftment, time of onset of GVHD, and duration of post-HSCT hospitalization, median time is indicated with range in brackets.ATG, Antithymocyte globulin; Bu, busulfan; CID, combined immunodeficiency; CMV, cytomegalovirus; Flu, fludarabine; HLH, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis; Mel, Melphalan; MMUD, mismatched unrelated donor; MUD, matched unrelated donor; SCID, severe combined immunodeficiency.
...the cells were washed, and flow cytometric analysis was performed immediately thereafter on a FACS scanner (Becton Dickinson Biosciences, Franklin Lakes, NJ). ...Fig 2 shows the predicted ...concentration time course of rATG after 3 successive daily doses of 4 mg/kg administered over 12 hours.
•In the post-ART era, HIV infections still leads to a variety of infections.•Some PIDs share the same pathogens and mechanisms with HIV-infected individuals.•Specific pathways and T cell subsets are ...responsible for these infections.
Following infection with almost any given microorganism other than an emerging pathogen, only a minority of individuals develop life-threatening clinical disease, implying that these individuals have some form of immunodeficiency. A growing number of inherited and acquired immunodeficiencies have been deciphered over the last 50 years. HIV infection is probably the best-known acquired immunodeficiency. It emerged about 40 years ago and precipitates various severe infections, the occurrence of which is associated with a fall in circulating CD4+ T cells. However, despite the strength of this correlation, infection rates differ between patients with similar levels and durations of CD4+ T lymphopenia in the presence or absence of antiretroviral treatment. Moreover, a few infections seem to be less dependent on total CD4+ T-cell levels. The fine detail of the mechanisms underlying these infections is unknown. We discuss here how studies of the human genetics and immunology of some of these infections in patients with primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs) have provided unique insights into their molecular and cellular basis. Defects of specific CD4+ Th-cell subsets account for some of these infections, as best exemplified by Th1* for mycobacteriosis and Th17 for candidiasis. PIDs are individually rare, but collectively much more common than initially thought, with new disorders being discovered at an ever-increasing pace and a global prevalence worldwide approaching that of HIV infection. Studies of known and new PIDs should make it possible to dissect the pathogenesis of most human infections at an unprecedented level of molecular and cellular precision. The predictive, preventive, and therapeutic implications of studies of immunity to infection in PIDs may extend to HIV-infected patients and patients with infectious diseases in other settings.
Immunosuppressive agents (corticosteroids and azathioprine) are associated with significant adverse effects, mostly infections. ...in a series of 5 patients treated with anti-TNF- agents,3 infections ...were more frequent, and 2 deaths occurred despite effectiveness in severe colitis, thus raising concerns regarding their safety in such patients. Because patients 3 and 6 experienced improvement in their pseudomass lesions after 6 and 12 months (see Figs E2 and E3), patients 4 and 5 did not show any improvement in their interstitial pattern, fibrotic pattern, or both (see Fig E4).
Objective The objective of the study was to investigate whether performing an amniocentesis increased mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 (MTCT). Study Design We ...studied HIV -1 infected mothers and their children enrolled in the multicenter French Perinatal HIV Cohort from 1985 to 2006. Results One hundred sixty-six amniocenteses were performed among 9302 singleton pregnancies, the proportion increasing from 1.0% before 2001 to 4.7% in 2005-2006. Use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was more frequent in the amniocentesis group (58.4% vs 33.2%). MTCT tended to be higher in the amniocentesis group, among mothers who received no antiretroviral agents (25.0%; 3/12 vs 16.2%; 343/2113; P = .41) as well as among mothers receiving zidovudine monotherapy or a double-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor combination (6.1%; 3/49 vs 3.3%; 117/3556; P = .22), but the difference was not significant. Among 81 mothers receiving HAART, there was no case of MTCT. Conclusion Our results suggest that amniocentesis is not a major risk factor for mother-to-child transmission in mothers treated with effective antiretroviral therapy.
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