Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation is effective for p47phox chronic granulomatous disease: A Primary Immune Deficiency Treatment Consortium study.

BACKGROUND: P47phox (neutrophil cytosolic factor-1) deficiency is the most common cause of autosomal recessive chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) and is considered to be associated with a milder clinical phenotype. Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for p47phox CGD is not well-described. OBJECTIVES: We sought to study HCT for p47phox CGD in North America. METHODS: Thirty patients with p47phox CGD who received allogeneic HCT at Primary Immune Deficiency Treatment Consortium centers since 1995 were included. RESULTS: Residual oxidative activity was present in 66.7% of patients. In the year before HCT, there were 0.38 CGD-related infections per person-years. Inflammatory diseases, predominantly of the lungs and bowel, occurred in 36.7% of the patients. The median age at HCT was 9.1 years (range 1.5-23.6 years). Most HCTs (90%) were performed after using reduced intensity/toxicity conditioning. HCT sources were HLA-matched (40%) and -mismatched (10%) related donors or HLA-matched (36.7%) and -mismatched (13.3%) unrelated donors. CGD-related infections after HCT decreased significantly to 0.06 per person-years (P = .038). The frequency of inflammatory bowel disease and the use of steroids also decreased. The cumulative incidence of graft failure and second HCT was 17.9%. The 2-year overall and event-free survival were 92.3% and 82.1%, respectively, while at 5 years they were 85.7% and 77.0%, respectively. In the surviving patients evaluated, ≥95% donor myeloid chimerism at 1 and 2 years after HCT was 93.8% and 87.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with p47phox CGD suffer from a significant disease burden that can be effectively alleviated by HCT. Similar to other forms of CGD, HCT should be considered for patients with p47phox CGD.

Inflammation-mediated fibroblast activation and immune dysregulation in collagen VII-deficient skin.

Inflammation is known to play a critical role in all stages of tumorigenesis; however, less is known about how it predisposes the tissue microenvironment preceding tumor formation. Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), a skin-blistering disease secondary to COL7A1 mutations and associated with chronic wounding, inflammation, fibrosis, and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), models this dynamic. Here, we used single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) to analyze gene expression patterns in skin cells from a mouse model of RDEB. We uncovered a complex landscape within the RDEB dermal microenvironment that exhibited altered metabolism, enhanced angiogenesis, hyperproliferative keratinocytes, infiltration and activation of immune cell populations, and inflammatory fibroblast priming. We demonstrated the presence of activated neutrophil and Langerhans cell subpopulations and elevated expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 in T cells and antigen-presenting cells, respectively. Unsupervised clustering within the fibroblast population further revealed two differentiation pathways in RDEB fibroblasts, one toward myofibroblasts and the other toward a phenotype that shares the characteristics of inflammatory fibroblast subsets in other inflammatory diseases as well as the IL-1-induced inflammatory cancer-associated fibroblasts (iCAFs) reported in various cancer types. Quantitation of inflammatory cytokines indicated dynamic waves of IL-1α, TGF-ß1, TNF, IL-6, and IFN-γ concentrations, along with dermal NF-κB activation preceding JAK/STAT signaling. We further demonstrated the divergent and overlapping roles of these cytokines in inducing inflammatory phenotypes in RDEB patients as well as RDEB mouse-derived fibroblasts together with their healthy controls. In summary, our data have suggested a potential role of inflammation, driven by the chronic release of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1, in creating an immune-suppressed dermal microenvironment that underlies RDEB disease progression.

Anemia associated with acute infection in children.

BACKGROUND: The pathogenesis of anemia associated with acute infection in children has not been well delineated. OBJECTIVES: To characterize this type of anemia in children with acute infection, mainly in relation to iron status. METHODS: These two cross-sectional studies compared the prevalence and severity of anemia between outpatient febrile children and age-matched non-febrile controls. RESULTS: In part 1 of the study, children with acute infection (n = 58) had a significant decrease in hemoglobin levels compared with 54 non-febrile controls. Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) did not change this association. Moreover, there was no significant difference in MCV, mean cell hemoglobin or red cell distribution width values between the two groups. Regarding part 2, of the 6534 blood counts obtained in community clinics, 229 were defined as "bacterial infection." Chart survey confirmed this diagnosis. White blood cell level was significantly inversely associated with hemoglobin level (r = -0.36, P < 0.0001). Anemia was significantly more prevalent among children with bacterial infection compared to those without: 21.4% vs. 14.1% (P = 0.002). Mean values of iron status parameters were all within normal limits. CONCLUSIONS: Acute illness is associated with anemia. The pathogenesis of this anemia does not appear to be associated with disruption of iron metabolism.

Intraoperative electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (IENB) to localize peripheral lung lesions: A new technique in the pediatric oncology population.

BACKGROUND: The utility, diagnostic yield and accuracy of lung biopsies in pediatric oncology patients are variable. Here we describe our preliminary results using intraoperative electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (IENB) for peripheral lung lesions to increase the surgical yield and accuracy in pediatric oncology patients. METHODS: From May 2018 until October 2020 all surgical lung biopsies on pediatric oncology patients were performed using IENB technology. IENB and tattooing with methylene blue dye, Indocyanine green dye or both followed by Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) was performed in the same setting. Data were collected retrospectively. Data points included diagnosis, technical success, pathologic diagnosis and alteration in treatment management and complications. RESULTS: A total of 10 biopsy procedures were performed on 8 patients during the study. The youngest patient was 7 years old. All had successful IENB with tattooing. All biopsies were diagnostic. No procedures were converted to open. There were no technical failures or procedure complications. One patient had a total of 11 biopsies, 6 from the right lung and 5 from the left, performed at 2 separate procedures. Another had 2 biopsies, one from the right lung and one from the left performed at the same operation. In 7 of the 8 patients treatment changes were made based on results of their biopsy. CONCLUSION: Here we present the first described experience of IENB and tattooing of peripheral lung lesions in the pediatric population. We have shown that IENB for peripheral lung lesion localization is a safe and effective technique in pediatric oncology.