Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome: a study of 577 patients defines the genotype as a biomarker for disease severity and survival.

ABSTRACT: Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is a multifaceted monogenic disorder with a broad disease spectrum and variable disease severity and a variety of treatment options including allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and gene therapy (GT). No reliable biomarker exists to predict disease course and outcome for individual patients. A total of 577 patients with a WAS variant from 26 countries and a median follow-up of 8.9 years (range, 0.3-71.1), totaling 6118 patient-years, were included in this international retrospective study. Overall survival (OS) of the cohort (censored at HSCT or GT) was 82% (95% confidence interval, 78-87) at age 15 years and 70% (61-80) at 30 years. The type of variant was predictive of outcome: patients with a missense variant in exons 1 or 2 or with the intronic hot spot variant c.559+5G>A (class I variants) had a 15-year OS of 93% (89-98) and a 30-year OS of 91% (86-97), compared with 71% (62-81) and 48% (34-68) in patients with any other variant (class II; P < .0001). The cumulative incidence rates of disease-related complications such as severe bleeding (P = .007), life-threatening infection (P < .0001), and autoimmunity (P = .004) occurred significantly later in patients with a class I variant. The cumulative incidence of malignancy (P = .6) was not different between classes I and II. It confirms the spectrum of disease severity and quantifies the risk for specific disease-related complications. The class of the variant is a biomarker to predict the outcome for patients with WAS.

Long-term outcomes after gene therapy for adenosine deaminase severe combined immune deficiency.

Patients lacking functional adenosine deaminase activity have severe combined immunodeficiency (ADA SCID), which can be treated with ADA enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), or autologous HSCT with gene-corrected cells (gene therapy [GT]). A cohort of 10 ADA SCID patients, aged 3 months to 15 years, underwent GT in a phase 2 clinical trial between 2009 and 2012. Autologous bone marrow CD34+ cells were transduced ex vivo with the MND (myeloproliferative sarcoma virus, negative control region deleted, dl587rev primer binding site)-ADA gammaretroviral vector (gRV) and infused following busulfan reduced-intensity conditioning. These patients were monitored in a long-term follow-up protocol over 8 to 11 years. Nine of 10 patients have sufficient immune reconstitution to protect against serious infections and have not needed to resume ERT or proceed to secondary allogeneic HSCT. ERT was restarted 6 months after GT in the oldest patient who had no evidence of benefit from GT. Four of 9 evaluable patients with the highest gene marking and B-cell numbers remain off immunoglobulin replacement therapy and responded to vaccines. There were broad ranges of responses in normalization of ADA enzyme activity and adenine metabolites in blood cells and levels of cellular and humoral immune reconstitution. Outcomes were generally better in younger patients and those receiving higher doses of gene-marked CD34+ cells. No patient experienced a leukoproliferative event after GT, despite persisting prominent clones with vector integrations adjacent to proto-oncogenes. These long-term findings demonstrate enduring efficacy of GT for ADA SCID but also highlight risks of genotoxicity with gRVs. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00794508.

Autologous Ex Vivo Lentiviral Gene Therapy for Adenosine Deaminase Deficiency.

BACKGROUND: Severe combined immunodeficiency due to adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency (ADA-SCID) is a rare and life-threatening primary immunodeficiency. METHODS: We treated 50 patients with ADA-SCID (30 in the United States and 20 in the United Kingdom) with an investigational gene therapy composed of autologous CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) transduced ex vivo with a self-inactivating lentiviral vector encoding human ADA. Data from the two U.S. studies (in which fresh and cryopreserved formulations were used) at 24 months of follow-up were analyzed alongside data from the U.K. study (in which a fresh formulation was used) at 36 months of follow-up. RESULTS: Overall survival was 100% in all studies up to 24 and 36 months. Event-free survival (in the absence of reinitiation of enzyme-replacement therapy or rescue allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation) was 97% (U.S. studies) and 100% (U.K. study) at 12 months; 97% and 95%, respectively, at 24 months; and 95% (U.K. study) at 36 months. Engraftment of genetically modified HSPCs persisted in 29 of 30 patients in the U.S. studies and in 19 of 20 patients in the U.K. study. Patients had sustained metabolic detoxification and normalization of ADA activity levels. Immune reconstitution was robust, with 90% of the patients in the U.S. studies and 100% of those in the U.K. study discontinuing immunoglobulin-replacement therapy by 24 months and 36 months, respectively. No evidence of monoclonal expansion, leukoproliferative complications, or emergence of replication-competent lentivirus was noted, and no events of autoimmunity or graft-versus-host disease occurred. Most adverse events were of low grade. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of ADA-SCID with ex vivo lentiviral HSPC gene therapy resulted in high overall and event-free survival with sustained ADA expression, metabolic correction, and functional immune reconstitution. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and others; ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT01852071, NCT02999984, and NCT01380990.).

Quality of Life of Patients with Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome and X-Linked Thrombocytopenia: a Study of the Primary Immune Deficiency Consortium (PIDTC), Immune Deficiency Foundation, and the Wiskott-Aldrich Foundation.

BACKGROUND: We undertook a study to determine the impact of Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome (WAS) and X-linked thrombocytopenia (XLT) and their therapies upon the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients and their families. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We undertook a survey of patients and their families, who self-identified as having either WAS or XLT. We assessed the PedsQL™ 4.0, the parent proxy form, and the family impact module. These results were compared with normative data from previously published reports. RESULTS: Sixty-eight patients (29 patients completed both the PedsQL™ 4.0 and the parent proxy form; 21 completed only the PedsQL™ 4.0; and 18 completed only the parent proxy form) were included. In contrast to patient-reported outcomes, parents of patients who had a bone marrow transplant (BMT) reported that their children had better QOL scores compared with those who did not (82.6 vs. 73.3, p = 0.023). The QOL of patients vs. previously published normative data showed decreases in patient scores for psychosocial health (72.62 vs. 86.58, p = < 0.001), emotional functioning (69.91 vs. 82.64, p = < 0.001), social functioning (77.55 vs. 91.56, p = < 0.001), and school functioning (70.46 vs. 85.67, p = < 0.001). The family impact study revealed deficits in emotional, social, and cognitive functioning, communication, and worry. CONCLUSION: These results show that patients with WAS/XLT are significantly impacted with respect to QOL. BMT offered a better QOL for patients according to parents, but not as reported by the patients. Future studies should incorporate QOL to provide more data and a better understanding of outcomes for long-term survivors and decision-making regarding BMT.

Cytoreductive conditioning intensity predicts clonal diversity in ADA-SCID retroviral gene therapy patients.

Retroviral gene therapy has proved efficacious for multiple genetic diseases of the hematopoietic system, but roughly half of clinical gene therapy trial protocols using gammaretroviral vectors have reported leukemias in some of the patients treated. In dramatic contrast, 39 adenosine deaminase-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency (ADA-SCID) patients have been treated with 4 distinct gammaretroviral vectors without oncogenic consequence. We investigated clonal dynamics and diversity in a cohort of 15 ADA-SCID children treated with gammaretroviral vectors and found clear evidence of genotoxicity, indicated by numerous common integration sites near proto-oncogenes and by increased abundance of clones with integrations near MECOM and LMO2 These clones showed stable behavior over multiple years and never expanded to the point of dominance or dysplasia. One patient developed a benign clonal dominance that could not be attributed to insertional mutagenesis and instead likely resulted from expansion of a transduced natural killer clone in response to chronic Epstein-Barr virus viremia. Clonal diversity and T-cell repertoire, measured by vector integration site sequencing and T-cell receptor ß-chain rearrangement sequencing, correlated significantly with the amount of busulfan preconditioning delivered to patients and to CD34+ cell dose. These data, in combination with results of other ADA-SCID gene therapy trials, suggest that disease background may be a crucial factor in leukemogenic potential of retroviral gene therapy and underscore the importance of cytoreductive conditioning in this type of gene therapy approach.

Advancing the science of patient input throughout the regulatory decision-making process.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) understands the value of patient input in the regulatory decision-making process and has worked to enhance meaningful engagement. In recent years, there has been an increased scientific demand for more systematic and quantitative approaches to incorporate patient input throughout the medical product lifecycle, including to inform regulatory benefit-risk assessments. The use of patient preference information (PPI), elicited using established scientific methods, is a promising strategy for accomplishing this. Although much of the science behind PPI is not new, its application in a regulatory setting will require adapting and advancing the science of identifying, collecting, and evaluating patient input for informing regulatory decision making. Patient input and empowerment are foundational to a learning healthcare system. A learning healthcare system paradigm can also help us better understand and continuously improve the incorporation of the patient perspective in regulatory decision making. In this article, we highlight the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research experience and current initiatives on advancing the science of patient input in a regulatory setting, in particular, PPI. We provide a use case that explores how the principles and benefits of PPI applied in shared clinical decision making can be realized and leveraged to enhance regulatory evaluation of innovative therapies. To further advance the application of the science of patient input in our regulatory framework, we compiled a list of example resources that support stakeholders in designing and conducting PPI studies. More collaborative research among stakeholders is needed to establish best practice approaches, ensure scientific validity, and continuously learn and improve the systematic incorporation of scientific patient input throughout the regulatory decision-making process.

Impulse oscillometry identifies peripheral airway dysfunction in children with adenosine deaminase deficiency.

Adenosine deaminase-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency (ADA-SCID) is characterized by impaired T-, B- and NK-cell function. Affected children, in addition to early onset of infections, manifest non-immunologic symptoms including pulmonary dysfunction likely attributable to elevated systemic adenosine levels. Lung disease assessment has primarily employed repetitive radiography and effort-dependent functional studies. Through impulse oscillometry (IOS), which is effort-independent, we prospectively obtained objective measures of lung dysfunction in 10 children with ADA-SCID. These results support the use of IOS in the identification and monitoring of lung function abnormalities in children with primary immunodeficiencies.

Assessment of Immature Platelet Fraction in the Diagnosis of Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome.

Children with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) are often first diagnosed with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), potentially leading to both inappropriate treatment and the delay of life-saving definitive therapy. WAS is traditionally differentiated from ITP based on the small size of WAS platelets. In practice, microthrombocytopenia is often not present or not appreciated in children with WAS. To develop an alternative method of differentiating WAS from ITP, we retrospectively reviewed all complete blood counts and measurements of immature platelet fraction (IPF) in 18 subjects with WAS and 38 subjects with a diagnosis of ITP treated at our hospital. Examination of peripheral blood smears revealed a wide range of platelet sizes in subjects with WAS. Mean platelet volume (MPV) was not reported in 26% of subjects, and subjects in whom MPV was not reported had lower platelet counts than did subjects in whom MPV was reported. Subjects with WAS had a lower IPF than would be expected for their level of thrombocytopenia, and the IPF in subjects with WAS was significantly lower than in subjects with a diagnosis of ITP. Using logistic regression, we developed and validated a rule based on platelet count and IPF that was more sensitive for the diagnosis of WAS than was the MPV, and was applicable regardless of the level of platelets or the availability of the MPV. Our observations demonstrate that MPV is often not available in severely thrombocytopenic subjects, which may hinder the diagnosis of WAS. In addition, subjects with WAS have a low IPF, which is consistent with the notion that a platelet production defect contributes to the thrombocytopenia of WAS. Knowledge of this detail of WAS pathophysiology allows to differentiate WAS from ITP with increased sensitivity, thereby allowing a physician to spare children with WAS from inappropriate treatment, and make definitive therapy available in a timely manner.

Individualized iterative phenotyping for genome-wide analysis of loss-of-function mutations.

Next-generation sequencing provides the opportunity to practice predictive medicine based on identified variants. Putative loss-of-function (pLOF) variants are common in genomes and understanding their contribution to disease is critical for predictive medicine. To this end, we characterized the consequences of pLOF variants in an exome cohort by iterative phenotyping. Exome data were generated on 951 participants from the ClinSeq cohort and filtered for pLOF variants in genes likely to cause a phenotype in heterozygotes. 103 of 951 exomes had such a pLOF variant and 79 participants were evaluated. Of those 79, 34 had findings or family histories that could be attributed to the variant (28 variants in 18 genes), 2 had indeterminate findings (2 variants in 2 genes), and 43 had no findings or a negative family history for the trait (34 variants in 28 genes). The presence of a phenotype was correlated with two mutation attributes: prior report of pathogenicity for the variant (p = 0.0001) and prior report of other mutations in the same exon (p = 0.0001). We conclude that 1/30 unselected individuals harbor a pLOF mutation associated with a phenotype either in themselves or their family. This is more common than has been assumed and has implications for the setting of prior probabilities of affection status for predictive medicine.

Actionable diagnosis of neuroleptospirosis by next-generation sequencing.

A 14-year-old boy with severe combined immunodeficiency presented three times to a medical facility over a period of 4 months with fever and headache that progressed to hydrocephalus and status epilepticus necessitating a medically induced coma. Diagnostic workup including brain biopsy was unrevealing. Unbiased next-generation sequencing of the cerebrospinal fluid identified 475 of 3,063,784 sequence reads (0.016%) corresponding to leptospira infection. Clinical assays for leptospirosis were negative. Targeted antimicrobial agents were administered, and the patient was discharged home 32 days later with a status close to his premorbid condition. Polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) and serologic testing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) subsequently confirmed evidence of Leptospira santarosai infection.

The altered landscape of the human skin microbiome in patients with primary immunodeficiencies.

While landmark studies have shown that microbiota activate and educate host immunity, how immune systems shape microbiomes and contribute to disease is incompletely characterized. Primary immunodeficiency (PID) patients suffer recurrent microbial infections, providing a unique opportunity to address this issue. To investigate the potential influence of host immunity on the skin microbiome, we examined skin microbiomes in patients with rare monogenic PIDs: hyper-IgE (STAT3-deficient), Wiskott-Aldrich, and dedicator of cytokinesis 8 syndromes. While specific immunologic defects differ, a shared hallmark is atopic dermatitis (AD)-like eczema. We compared bacterial and fungal skin microbiomes (41 PID, 13 AD, 49 healthy controls) at four clinically relevant sites representing the major skin microenvironments. PID skin displayed increased ecological permissiveness with altered population structures, decreased site specificity and temporal stability, and colonization with microbial species not observed in controls, including Clostridium species and Serratia marcescens. Elevated fungal diversity and increased representation of opportunistic fungi (Candida, Aspergillus) supported increased PID skin permissiveness, suggesting that skin may serve as a reservoir for the recurrent fungal infections observed in these patients. The overarching theme of increased ecological permissiveness in PID skin was counterbalanced by the maintenance of a phylum barrier in which colonization remained restricted to typical human-associated phyla. Clinical parameters, including markers of disease severity, were positively correlated with prevalence of Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, and other less abundant taxa. This study examines differences in microbial colonization and community stability in PID skin and informs our understanding of host-microbiome interactions, suggesting a bidirectional dialogue between skin commensals and the host organism.

Peptide library-based evaluation of T-cell receptor breadth detects defects in global and regulatory activation in human immunologic diseases.

The ability of T-cells to respond to foreign antigens and to appropriately regulate this response is crucial for maintaining immune homeostasis. Using combinatorial peptide libraries, we functionally measured broad T-cell reactivity and observed impaired reactivity in established models of T-cell receptor repertoire restriction and in previously unrecognized disease contexts. By concurrently analyzing T-regulatory and T-effector cells, we show strong functional correlation between these subsets in healthy individuals and, strikingly, that alterations of this balance are associated with T helper type 2 (Th2)-mediated disease in a lymphopenic setting. Finally, we demonstrate that peptide-based priming of polyclonal naive cells with relatively low concentrations skews toward Th2 differentiation. These findings provide unique insight into the pathophysiology and functional consequences of abnormal T-cell repertoires and into differentiation of human naive T-cells.

Platelets from WAS patients show an increased susceptibility to ex vivo phagocytosis.

The thrombocytopenia of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is thought to be due to both reduced platelet production and accelerated platelet consumption. We have previously demonstrated that platelets from WASP-deficient mice are consumed more rapidly in vivo than are WT platelets, and that opsonization accelerates their uptake by bone marrow- derived macrophages more than it does that of WT platelets. Here we asked whether platelets from WAS patients show similar features. We show that ex vivo phagocytosis by activated THP-1 cells of DIO-labeled platelets from a series of WAS or XLT patients is increased in comparison to that of normal control platelets. Using a numerical analysis method, we distinguish this effect from a concurrent effect on the amount of detectable fluorescent signal transferred to the macrophage per phagocytosed platelet. We show that the latter quantity is reduced by platelet WASP deficiency, as might be expected if the fluorescence transferred from these smaller platelets is more rapidly quenched. We are unable to detect a differential effect of opsonization with anti-CD61 antibody on the uptake of WASP(-) vs. WT platelets. However, the high probability of phagocytosis per adsorbed WASP(-) platelet could limit the sensitivity of the assay in this case. We also see no effect of sera from WAS patients on the uptake of normal control platelets, suggesting that in vivo opsonization is not the cause of increased uptake of WASP(-) platelets. Finally, we show little, if any, increase in the reticulated platelet fraction in WAS patients, suggesting that impaired production of reticulated platelets contributes to the thrombocytopenia. Our findings suggest that rapid in vivo platelet consumption contributes significantly to the thrombocytopenia of WAS. They also demonstrate the feasibility of routinely performing functional assays of phagocytosis of small numbers of platelets obtained at remote locations, a method which should be applicable to the study of other types of thrombocytopenia such as ITP.

Neutropenia in primary immunodeficiency.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Neutropenia is a feature of several primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDDs). Because of the diverse pathophysiologies of the PIDDs and the rarity of each disorder, data are often lacking, leading to the necessity of empiric treatment. Recent developments in the understanding of neutropenia in several of the PIDDs make a review of the data timely. RECENT FINDINGS: The category of severe congenital neutropenia continues to expand. Mutations in G6PC3 have been identified as the cause of neutropenia in a minority of previously molecularly undefined cases. Recent advances have broadened our understanding of the pathophysiology and the clinical expression of this disorder. A possible function of the C16orf57 gene has been hypothesized that may explain the clinical overlap between Clerucuzio-type poikiloderma with neutropenia and other marrow diseases. Plerixafor has been shown to be a potentially useful treatment in the warts, hypogammaglobulinemia, infection, and myelokathexis syndrome. Investigations of patients with adenosine deaminase deficient severe combined immunodeficiency have identified neutropenia, and particularly susceptibility to myelotoxins, as a feature of this disorder. Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor is the treatment of choice for neutropenia in PIDD, whereas hematopoietic cell transplantation is the only curative option. SUMMARY: The number of PIDDs associated with neutropenia has increased, as has our understanding of the range of phenotypes. Additional data and hypotheses have been generated helping to explain the diversity of presentations of neutropenia in PIDDs.

Gene therapy for adenosine deaminase-deficient severe combined immune deficiency: clinical comparison of retroviral vectors and treatment plans.

We conducted a gene therapy trial in 10 patients with adenosine deaminase (ADA)-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency using 2 slightly different retroviral vectors for the transduction of patients' bone marrow CD34(+) cells. Four subjects were treated without pretransplantation cytoreduction and remained on ADA enzyme-replacement therapy (ERT) throughout the procedure. Only transient (months), low-level (< 0.01%) gene marking was observed in PBMCs of 2 older subjects (15 and 20 years of age), whereas some gene marking of PBMC has persisted for the past 9 years in 2 younger subjects (4 and 6 years). Six additional subjects were treated using the same gene transfer protocol, but after withdrawal of ERT and administration of low-dose busulfan (65-90 mg/m(2)). Three of these remain well, off ERT (5, 4, and 3 years postprocedure), with gene marking in PBMC of 1%-10%, and ADA enzyme expression in PBMC near or in the normal range. Two subjects were restarted on ERT because of poor gene marking and immune recovery, and one had a subsequent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. These studies directly demonstrate the importance of providing nonmyeloablative pretransplantation conditioning to achieve therapeutic benefits with gene therapy for ADA-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency.

Multicentric dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans in patients with adenosine deaminase-deficient severe combined immune deficiency.

BACKGROUND: Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare malignant skin tumor associated with a characteristic chromosomal translocation (t[17;22][q22;q13]) resulting in the COL1A1-platelet-derived growth factor ß(PDGFB) fusion gene. This malignancy is rarely diagnosed in childhood. OBJECTIVE: We observed an unexpected high incidence of this DFSP in children affected with adenosine deaminase-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency (ADA-SCID) and set out to evaluate the association of these 2 clinical entities. METHODS: Twelve patients with ADA-SCID were evaluated with a complete dermatologic examination and skin biopsy when indicated. Conventional cytogenetic and molecular analyses (fluorescence in situ hybridization, RT-PCR, or both) were performed when possible. RESULTS: Eight patients were found to have DFSP. Six patients had multicentric involvement (4-15 lesions), primarily of the trunk and extremities. Most lesions presented as 2- to 15-mm, round atrophic plaques. Nodular lesions were present in 3 patients. In all cases CD34 expression was diffusely positive, and diagnosis was confirmed either by means of cytogenetic analysis, molecular testing, or both. The characteristic DFSP-associated translocation, t(17;22)(q22;q13), was identified in 6 patients; results of fluorescence in situ hybridization were positive for fusion of the COL1A1 and PDGFB loci in 7 patients; and RT-PCR showed the COL1A1-PDGFB fusion transcript in 6 patients. CONCLUSIONS: We describe a previously unrecognized association between ADA-SCID and DFSP with unique features, such as multicentricity and occurrence in early age. We hypothesize that the t(17;22)(q22;q13) translocation that results in dermal overexpression of PDGFB and favors the development of fibrotic tumors might arise because of the known DNA repair defect in patients with ADA-SCID. Although the natural course of DFSP in the setting of ADA-SCID is unknown, this observation should prompt regular screening for DFSP in patients with ADA-SCID.