RESUMO
Serine/arginine-rich splicing factors (SRSFs) are a family of proteins involved in RNA metabolism, including pre-mRNA constitutive and alternative splicing. The role of SRSF proteins in regulating mitochondrial activity has already been shown for SRSF6, but SRSF4 altered expression has never been reported as a cause of bone marrow failure. An 8-year-old patient admitted to the hematology unit because of leukopenia, lymphopenia, and neutropenia showed a missense variant of unknown significance of the SRSF4 gene (p.R235W) found via whole genome sequencing analysis and inherited from the mother who suffered from mild leuko-neutropenia. Both patients showed lower SRSF4 protein expression and altered mitochondrial function and energetic metabolism in primary lymphocytes and Epstein-Barr-virus (EBV)-immortalized lymphoblasts compared to healthy donor (HD) cells, which appeared associated with low mTOR phosphorylation and an imbalance in the proteins regulating mitochondrial biogenesis (i.e., CLUH) and dynamics (i.e., DRP1 and OPA1). Transfection with the wtSRSF4 gene restored mitochondrial function. In conclusion, this study shows that the described variant of the SRSF4 gene is pathogenetic and causes reduced SRSF4 protein expression, which leads to mitochondrial dysfunction. Since mitochondrial function is crucial for hematopoietic stem cell maintenance and some genetic bone marrow failure syndromes display mitochondrial defects, the SRSF4 mutation could have substantially contributed to the clinical phenotype of our patient.
Assuntos
Medula Óssea , Mitocôndrias , Neutropenia , Fatores de Processamento de Serina-Arginina , Criança , Humanos , Processamento Alternativo , Medula Óssea/metabolismo , Medula Óssea/patologia , Mitocôndrias/genética , Mitocôndrias/metabolismo , Mitocôndrias/patologia , Dinâmica Mitocondrial/genética , Proteínas Mitocondriais/metabolismo , Fosfoproteínas/metabolismo , Precursores de RNA/genética , Fatores de Processamento de Serina-Arginina/genética , Fatores de Processamento de Serina-Arginina/metabolismoRESUMO
In recent years, the knowledge about the immune-mediated impairment of bone marrow precursors in immune-dysregulation and autoimmune disorders has increased. In addition, immune-dysregulation, secondary to marrow failure, has been reported as being, in some cases, the most evident and early sign of the disease and making the diagnosis of both groups of disorders challenging. Dyskeratosis congenita is a disorder characterized by premature telomere erosion, typically showing marrow failure, nail dystrophy and leukoplakia, although incomplete genetic penetrance and phenotypes with immune-dysregulation features have been described. We report on a previously healthy 17-year-old girl, with a cousin successfully treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, who presented with leukopenia and neutropenia. The diagnostic work-up showed positive anti-neutrophil antibodies, leading to the diagnosis of autoimmune neutropenia, a slightly low NK count and high TCR-αß+-double-negative T-cells. A next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis showed the 734C>A variant on exon 6 of the TINF2 gene, leading to the p.Ser245Tyr. The telomere length was short on the lymphocytes and granulocytes, suggesting the diagnosis of an atypical telomeropathy showing with immune-dysregulation. This case underlines the importance of an accurate diagnostic work-up of patients with immune-dysregulation, who should undergo NGS or whole exome sequencing to identify specific disorders that deserve targeted follow-up and treatment.
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Disceratose Congênita , Neutropenia , Humanos , Disceratose Congênita/genética , Telômero , Éxons , Neutropenia/genética , Medula Óssea , Proteínas de Ligação a Telômeros/genéticaRESUMO
The differential diagnosis of marrow failure (MF) is crucial in the diagnostic work-up, since genetic forms require specific care. We retrospectively studied all patients with single/multi-lineage MF evaluated in a single-center to identify the type and incidence of underlying molecular defects. The diepoxybutane test was used to screen Fanconi Anemia. Other congenital MFs have been searched using Sanger and/or Next Generation Sequencing analysis, depending on the available tools over the years. Between 2009-2019, 97 patients (aged 0-32 years-median 5) with single-lineage (29%) or multilineage (68%) MF were evaluated. Fifty-three (54%) and 28 (29%) were diagnosed with acquired and congenital MF, respectively. The remaining 16 (17%), with trilinear (n=9) and monolinear (n=7) MF, were found to have an underlying primary immunodeficiency (PID) and showed clinical and biochemical signs of immune-dysregulation in 10/16 (62%) and in 14/16 (87%) of cases, respectively. Clinical signs were also found in 22/53 (41%) and 8/28 (28%) patients with idiopathic and classical cMF, respectively. Eight out of 16 PIDs patients were successfully transplanted, four received immunosuppression, two did not require treatment, and the remaining two died. We show that patients with single/multi-lineage MF may have underlying PIDs in a considerable number of cases and that MF may represent a relevant clinical sign in patients with PIDs, thus widening their clinical phenotype. An accurate immunological work-up should be performed in all patients with MF, and PID-related genes should be considered when screening MF in order to identify disorders that may receive targeted treatments and/or appropriate conditioning regimens before transplant.
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Transtornos da Insuficiência da Medula Óssea/genética , Medula Óssea/patologia , Doenças da Imunodeficiência Primária/genética , Adolescente , Adulto , Medula Óssea/metabolismo , Transtornos da Insuficiência da Medula Óssea/patologia , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Feminino , Predisposição Genética para Doença , Testes Genéticos , Sequenciamento de Nucleotídeos em Larga Escala , Humanos , Lactente , Masculino , Doenças da Imunodeficiência Primária/patologia , Estudos Retrospectivos , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) is a congenital disorder that results in an apoptosis impairment of lymphocytes, leading to chronic lymphoproliferation and autoimmunity, mainly autoimmune cytopenias. FAS gene defects are often responsible for the disease, the phenotype of which can vary from asymptomatic/mild forms to severe disease. More rarely, defects are associated to other genes involved in apoptosis pathway, such as CASP10. Few data are available on CASP10-mutated patients. To date, two CASP10 mutations have been recognized as pathogenic (I406L and L258F) and others have been reported with controversial result on their pathogenicity (V410l, Y446C) or are known to be polymorphic variants (L522l). In this study, we evaluated apoptosis function in patients with an ALPS/ALPS-like phenotype carrying CASP10 variants. Molecular findings were obtained by next generation sequencing analysis of genes involved in immune dysregulation syndromes. Functional studies were performed after inducing apoptosis by FAS-ligand/TRIAL stimulation and analysing cell death and the function of CASP10, CASP8 and PARP proteins. We identified 6 patients with an ALPS (n = 2) or ALPS-like (n = 4) phenotype, carrying I406L (n = 1),V410l (n = 2),Y446C (n = 1) heterozygous CASP10 variants or the L522l polymorphisms (n = 2) associated with another polymorphic homozygote variant on CASP8 or a compound heterozygous mutation on TNFRSF13C. Apoptosis was impaired in all patients showing that such variants may play a role in the development of clinical phenotype.
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Apoptose/genética , Síndrome Linfoproliferativa Autoimune/genética , Caspase 10/genética , Polimorfismo Genético , Adulto , Síndrome Linfoproliferativa Autoimune/patologia , Caspase 8/genética , Proteína Ligante Fas/fisiologia , Feminino , Heterozigoto , Homozigoto , Humanos , Masculino , Mutação , Fenótipo , Receptor fas/fisiologiaRESUMO
Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare inherited disorder clinically characterized by congenital malformations, progressive bone marrow failure and cancer susceptibility. At the cellular level, FA is associated with hypersensitivity to DNA-crosslinking genotoxins. Eight of 17 known FA genes assemble the FA E3 ligase complex, which catalyzes monoubiquitination of FANCD2 and is essential for replicative DNA crosslink repair. Here, we identify the first FA patient with biallelic germline mutations in the ubiquitin E2 conjugase UBE2T. Both mutations were aluY-mediated: a paternal deletion and maternal duplication of exons 2-6. These loss-of-function mutations in UBE2T induced a cellular phenotype similar to biallelic defects in early FA genes with the absence of FANCD2 monoubiquitination. The maternal duplication produced a mutant mRNA that could encode a functional protein but was degraded by nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. In the patient's hematopoietic stem cells, the maternal allele with the duplication of exons 2-6 spontaneously reverted to a wild-type allele by monoallelic recombination at the duplicated aluY repeat, thereby preventing bone marrow failure. Analysis of germline DNA of 814 normal individuals and 850 breast cancer patients for deletion or duplication of UBE2T exons 2-6 identified the deletion in only two controls, suggesting aluY-mediated recombinations within the UBE2T locus are rare and not associated with an increased breast cancer risk. Finally, a loss-of-function germline mutation in UBE2T was detected in a high-risk breast cancer patient with wild-type BRCA1/2. Cumulatively, we identified UBE2T as a bona fide FA gene (FANCT) that also may be a rare cancer susceptibility gene.
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Anemia de Fanconi/genética , Anemia de Fanconi/metabolismo , Células Germinativas/metabolismo , Mutação em Linhagem Germinativa , Células-Tronco/metabolismo , Enzimas de Conjugação de Ubiquitina/genética , Adolescente , Adulto , Alelos , Neoplasias da Mama/genética , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Quebra Cromossômica , Dano ao DNA , Éxons , Anemia de Fanconi/diagnóstico , Proteína do Grupo de Complementação D2 da Anemia de Fanconi/genética , Proteína do Grupo de Complementação D2 da Anemia de Fanconi/metabolismo , Feminino , Fibroblastos/metabolismo , Deleção de Genes , Duplicação Gênica , Técnicas de Inativação de Genes , Teste de Complementação Genética , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Degradação do RNAm Mediada por Códon sem Sentido , Fenótipo , RNA Mensageiro/genética , Enzimas de Conjugação de Ubiquitina/metabolismo , UbiquitinaçãoAssuntos
Autoimunidade , Neutropenia , Fator Ativador de Células B , Linfócitos B , Humanos , Neutropenia/genéticaRESUMO
Acquired aplastic anemia (AA) is a rare heterogeneous disease characterized by pancytopenia and hypoplastic bone marrow. The incidence is 2-3/million inhabitants/year, in Europe, but higher in East Asia. Survival in severe aplastic anemia (SAA) has markedly improved in the past 2 decades because of advances in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, immunosuppressive and biologic drugs, and supportive care. In SAA hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) from a matched sibling donor (MSD) is the treatment of choice. If a MSD is not available, the options include immunosuppressive therapy (IST) or unrelated donor HSCT. The objective of this guideline is to provide healthcare professionals with clear guidance on the diagnosis and management of pediatric patients with AA. A preliminary, evidence-based document issued by a group of pediatric hematologists was discussed, modified and approved during a series of "Consensus Conferences" according to procedures previously validated by the AIEOP Board. The guidelines highlight the importance of referring pediatric patients with AA to pediatric centers with long experience in diagnosis, differential diagnosis, management, supportive care and follow-up of AA.
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Anemia Aplástica/diagnóstico , Anemia Aplástica/terapia , Transplante de Células-Tronco Hematopoéticas/métodos , Imunossupressores/uso terapêutico , Pancitopenia/diagnóstico , Pancitopenia/terapia , Anemia Aplástica/induzido quimicamente , Anemia Aplástica/imunologia , Antibacterianos/efeitos adversos , Anti-Inflamatórios/efeitos adversos , Soro Antilinfocitário/uso terapêutico , Antirreumáticos/efeitos adversos , Medula Óssea/efeitos dos fármacos , Medula Óssea/imunologia , Medula Óssea/patologia , Criança , Ciclosporina/uso terapêutico , Gerenciamento Clínico , Teste de Histocompatibilidade , Humanos , Organofosfatos/toxicidade , Pancitopenia/induzido quimicamente , Pancitopenia/imunologia , Irmãos , Doadores não RelacionadosAssuntos
Síndrome Linfoproliferativa Autoimune , Terapia de Imunossupressão , Adolescente , Adulto , Síndrome Linfoproliferativa Autoimune/sangue , Síndrome Linfoproliferativa Autoimune/patologia , Síndrome Linfoproliferativa Autoimune/terapia , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Feminino , Humanos , Lactente , MasculinoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Neutropenia is not uncommon in childhood. The aim of our study was to analyze the underlying causes of neutropenia and to evaluate its clinical significance in a series of children referred to our center. METHODS: One hundred and four consecutive children with neutropenia were enrolled in this study. Clinical and laboratory features were analyzed. RESULTS: The majority of patients (63.5%) showed chronic neutropenia. Among all chronic forms, the most frequent was chronic idiopathic neutropenia (CIN), followed by autoimmune neutropenia (AIN). Congenital neutropenia was identified in 6 patients. Acute neutropenia was mainly due to infections. Overall, at the time of first detection, neutropenia was more frequently severe or moderate. One-third of our patients who presented with severe neutropenia were ultimately diagnosed with a post-infectious acute form. Conversely, nearly half patients with CIN, AIN, or congenital neutropenia showed moderate/mild neutropenia at onset. Among patients with AIN and CIN, nearly half recovered between 7 months and 46 months and approximately one-fourth experienced infectious episodes during follow-up. No significant difference was noticed in terms of mean ANC between patients with and without remission, neither between patients with and without infections. CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms the great etiological heterogeneity of neutropenia in children. We could not demonstrate a correlation between ANC level at onset and the underlying disorder, nor a correlation between mean ANC and duration of neutropenia or infectious episodes during follow-up. Neutropenia remains a disease of concern to pediatricians, requiring several laboratory investigations, prolonged follow-up, and, in few cases, advanced molecular methods.
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Neutropenia/etiologia , Adolescente , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Feminino , Humanos , Lactente , Masculino , Neutropenia/congênito , Neutropenia/diagnósticoRESUMO
Poikiloderma with neutropenia (PN, OMIM 604173) is a rare autosomal-recessive genodermatosis. Mutations in the C16orf57 gene have been recently identified as the cause. Here we describe a new case of PN in a white patient, review the literature, and point out the attention on importance of differential diagnosis.
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Neutropenia/complicações , Neutropenia/diagnóstico , Síndrome de Rothmund-Thomson/complicações , Síndrome de Rothmund-Thomson/diagnóstico , Diagnóstico Diferencial , Feminino , Humanos , LactenteRESUMO
Introduction: Autoimmune cytopenias (AICs) are a group of disorders characterized by immune-mediated destruction of blood cells. In children, they are often secondary to immune dysregulation that may require long-lasting immunosuppression. Mycophenolate mofetil and sirolimus represent two well-tolerated options to treat these disorders, often as a steroid-sparing option. However, no data are available on the infection risk for patients undergoing long-lasting treatments. Patients and methods: The rate of severe infective events was calculated in episodes per 100 persons/months at risk (p/m/r) documented by the analysis of hospitalization charts between January 2015 and July 2023 of patients treated with mycophenolate mofetil or sirolimus given for isolated AIC or AICs associated with autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS)/ALPS-like syndromes in two large Italian pediatric hematology units. Results: From January 2015 to July 2023, 13 out of 96 patients treated with mycophenolate mofetil or sirolimus developed 16 severe infectious events requiring hospitalization. No patients died. Overall infection rate was 0.24 person/*100 months/risk (95% CI 0.09-0.3). Serious infectious events incidence was higher in patients with ALPS-like compared to others (0.42 versus 0.09; p = 0.006) and lower in patients who underwent mycophenolate treatment alone compared to those who started sirolimus after mycophenolate failure (0.04 versus 0.29, p = 0.03). Considering only patients who started treatment at the beginning of study period, overall cumulative hazard was 18.6% at 60 months (95% CI 3.4-31.4) with higher risk of infectious events after 5 years in ALPS-like patients (26.1%; 95% CI 3.2-43.5) compared to other AICs (4%; 95% CI 0-11.4; p = 0.041). Discussion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to describe the infectious risk related to mycophenolate and sirolimus chronic treatment in patients with AICs and immune dysregulation. Our data highlight that infection rate is very low and mainly related to the underlying hematological condition. Conclusions: Mycophenolate and sirolimus represent a safe immunosuppressive therapy in AICs and immune dysregulation syndromes.
Assuntos
Imunossupressores , Ácido Micofenólico , Sirolimo , Humanos , Ácido Micofenólico/efeitos adversos , Ácido Micofenólico/uso terapêutico , Sirolimo/uso terapêutico , Sirolimo/efeitos adversos , Feminino , Masculino , Criança , Imunossupressores/efeitos adversos , Imunossupressores/uso terapêutico , Pré-Escolar , Adolescente , Lactente , Doenças Autoimunes/tratamento farmacológico , Doenças Autoimunes/imunologia , Doenças Autoimunes/epidemiologia , Infecções/epidemiologia , Infecções/etiologia , Fatores de Risco , Estudos Retrospectivos , Incidência , CitopeniaAssuntos
Filgrastim/farmacocinética , Filgrastim/uso terapêutico , Neutropenia/congênito , Polietilenoglicóis/farmacocinética , Polietilenoglicóis/uso terapêutico , Adolescente , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Estudos de Coortes , Síndrome Congênita de Insuficiência da Medula Óssea , Feminino , Fator Estimulador de Colônias de Granulócitos/administração & dosagem , Fator Estimulador de Colônias de Granulócitos/farmacocinética , Humanos , Masculino , Neutropenia/tratamento farmacológico , Neutropenia/metabolismo , Fatores de Tempo , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) is an inherited disorder of lymphocyte homeostasis classically due to mutation of FAS, FASL, and CASP10 genes (ALPS-FAS/CASP10). Despite recent progress, about one-third of ALPS patients does not carry classical mutations and still remains gene orphan (ALPS-U, undetermined genetic defects). The aims of the present study were to compare the clinical and immunological features of ALPS-FAS/CASP10 versus those of ALPS-U affected subjects and to deepen the genetic characteristics of this latter group. Demographical, anamnestic, biochemical data were retrieved from medical record of 46 ALPS subjects. An enlarged panel of genes (next-generation sequencing) was applied to the ALPS-U group. ALPS-U subjects showed a more complex phenotype if compared to ALPS-FAS/CASP10 group, characterized by multiorgan involvement (P = 0.001) and positivity of autoimmune markers (P = 0.02). Multilineage cytopenia was present in both groups without differences with the exception of lymphocytopenia and autoimmune neutropenia that were more frequent in ALPS-U than in the ALPS-FAS/CASP10 group (P = 0.01 and P = 0.04). First- and second-line treatments were able to control the symptoms in 100% of the ALPS-FAS/CASP10 patients, while 63% of ALPS-U needed >2 lines of treatment and remission in some cases was obtained only after target therapy. In the ALPS-U group, we found in 14 of 28 (50%) patients 19 variants; of these, 4 of 19 (21%) were known as pathogenic and 8 of 19 (42%) as likely pathogenic. A characteristic flow cytometry panel including CD3CD4-CD8-+TCRαß+, CD3+CD25+/CD3HLADR+, TCR αß+ B220+, and CD19+CD27+ identified the ALPS-FAS/CASP10 group. ALPS-U seems to represent a distinct entity from ALPS-FAS/CASP10; this is relevant for management and tailored treatments whenever available.
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The management of congenital and acquired neutropenias presents some differences according to the type of the disease. Treatment with recombinant human granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is not standardized and scanty data are available on the best schedule to apply. The frequency and the type of longitudinal controls in patients affected with neutropenias are not usually discussed in the literature. The Neutropenia Committee of the Marrow Failure Syndrome Group (MFSG) of the Associazione Italiana di Emato-Oncologia Pediatrica (AIEOP) elaborated this document following design and methodology formerly approved by the AIEOP board. The panel of experts reviewed the literature on the topic and participated in a conference producing a document that includes recommendations on neutropenia treatment and timing of follow-up.
Assuntos
Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/uso terapêutico , Transplante de Medula Óssea , Fator Estimulador de Colônias de Granulócitos/uso terapêutico , Neutropenia/terapia , Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/farmacologia , Medula Óssea/efeitos dos fármacos , Medula Óssea/patologia , Criança , Consenso , Gerenciamento Clínico , Esquema de Medicação , Fator Estimulador de Colônias de Granulócitos/farmacologia , Humanos , Neutropenia/classificação , Neutropenia/patologia , Transplante Autólogo , Transplante HomólogoRESUMO
T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a subtype of ALL involving the malignant expansion of T-cell progenitors. It is driven by a number of different possible genetic lesions, including mutations in genes encoding for ribosomal proteins (RPs). These are structural constituents of ribosomes, ubiquitous effectors of protein synthesis. Albeit the R98S mutation in RPL10, recurring with a higher frequency among RP mutations, has been extensively studied, less is known about the contribution of mutations occurring in other RPs. Alterations affecting translational machinery may not be well tolerated by cells, and there may be a selective pressure that determines the emergence of mutations with a compensatory effect. To explore this hypothesis, we sequenced the exomes of a cohort of 37 pediatric patients affected by T-ALL, and analyzed them to explore the co-occurrence of mutations in genes involved in ribosome biogenesis (including RPs) and translational control, and in known T-ALL driver genes. We found that some of the mutations in these sub-classes of genes tend to cluster together in different patients, indicating that their co-occurrence may confer some kind of advantage to leukemia cells. In addition, our sequencing highlighted the presence of a novel mutation in RPL10, namely the Q123R, which we found associated with a defect in protein synthesis. Our findings indicate that genetic alterations involving ribosome biogenesis and translational control should be carefully considered in the context of precision medicine in T-ALL.
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Background: Evans syndrome (ES) is a rare disorder classically defined as the simultaneous or sequential presence of autoimmune haemolytic anaemia and immune thrombocytopenia, but it has also been described as the presence of at least two autoimmune cytopenias. Recent reports have shown that ES is often a manifestation of an underlying inborn error of immunity (IEI) that can benefit from specific treatments. Aims: The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical and immunological characteristics and the underlying genetic background of a single-centre cohort of patients with ES. Methods: Data were obtained from a retrospective chart review of patients with a diagnosis of ES followed in our centre. Genetic studies were performed with NGS analysis of 315 genes related to both haematological and immunological disorders, in particular IEI. Results: Between 1985 and 2020, 40 patients (23 men, 17 women) with a median age at onset of 6 years (range 0-16) were studied. ES was concomitant and sequential in 18 (45%) and 22 (55%) patients, respectively. Nine of the 40 (8%) patients had a positive family history of autoimmunity. Other abnormal immunological features and signs of lymphoproliferation were present in 24/40 (60%) and 27/40 (67%) of cases, respectively. Seventeen out of 40 (42%) children fit the ALPS diagnostic criteria. The remaining 21 (42%) and 2 (5%) were classified as having an ALPS-like and an idiopathic disease, respectively. Eighteen patients (45%) were found to have an underlying genetic defect on genes FAS, CASP10, TNFSF13B, LRBA, CTLA4, STAT3, IKBGK, CARD11, ADA2, and LIG4. No significant differences were noted between patients with or without variant and between subjects with classical ES and the ones with other forms of multilineage cytopenias. Conclusions: This study shows that nearly half of patients with ES have a genetic background being in most cases secondary to IEI, and therefore, a molecular evaluation should be offered to all patients.
Assuntos
Anemia Hemolítica Autoimune , Púrpura Trombocitopênica Idiopática , Trombocitopenia , Proteínas Adaptadoras de Transdução de Sinal , Adolescente , Anemia Hemolítica Autoimune/genética , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Feminino , Humanos , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Masculino , Estudos RetrospectivosRESUMO
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the major pediatric cancer in developed countries. To date most association studies of acute lymphoblastic leukemia have been based on the candidate gene approach and have evaluated a restricted number of polymorphisms. Such studies have served to highlight difficulties in conducting statistically and methodologically rigorous investigations into acute lymphoblastic leukemia risk. Recent genome-wide association studies of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia have provided robust evidence that common variation at four genetic loci confers a modest increase in risk. The accumulated experience to date and relative lack of success of initial efforts to identify novel acute lymphoblastic leukemia predisposition loci emphasize the need for alternative study designs and methods. The International Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Genetics Consortium includes 12 research groups in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas engaged in studying the genetics of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The initial goal of this consortium is to identify and characterize low-penetrance susceptibility variants for acute lymphoblastic leukemia through association-based analyses. Efforts to develop genome-wide association studies of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, in terms of both sample size and single nucleotide polymorphism coverage, and to increase the number of single nucleotide polymorphisms taken forward to large-scale replication should lead to the identification of additional novel risk variants for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Ethnic differences in the risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia are well recognized and thus in assessing the interplay between inherited and non-genetic risk factors, analyses using different population cohorts with different incidence rates are likely to be highly informative. Given that the frequency of many acute lymphoblastic leukemia subgroups is small, identifying differential effects will realistically only be possible through multi-center pooled analyses. Here, we review the rationale for identifying genetic risk variants for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and our proposed strategy for establishing the International Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Genetics Consortium.
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Predisposição Genética para Doença , Cooperação Internacional , Leucemia-Linfoma Linfoblástico de Células Precursoras/genética , Alelos , Criança , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Regulação Leucêmica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Polimorfismo Genético , Pesquisa/normas , Pesquisa/tendênciasRESUMO
Congenital and acquired neutropenia are rare disorders whose frequency in pediatric age may be underestimated due to remarkable differences in definition or misdiagnosed because of the lack of common practice guidelines. Neutropenia Committee of the Marrow Failure Syndrome Group (MFSG) of the AIEOP (Associazione Italiana Emato-Oncologia Pediatrica) elaborated this document following design and methodology formerly approved by the AIEOP board. The panel of experts reviewed the literature on the topic and participated in a conference producing a document which includes a classification of neutropenia and a comprehensive guideline on diagnosis of neutropenia.
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Neutropenia/classificação , Neutropenia/congênito , Neutropenia/diagnóstico , Adolescente , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Conferências de Consenso como Assunto , Feminino , Hematologia , Humanos , Itália , Masculino , Guias de Prática Clínica como Assunto , Sociedades MédicasRESUMO
Inborn errors of immunity (IEI) include a large group of inherited diseases sharing either poor, dysregulated, or absent and/or acquired function in one or more components of the immune system. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has driven a rapid increase in the recognition of such defects, though the wide heterogeneity of genetically diverse but phenotypically overlapping diseases has often prevented the molecular characterization of the most complex patients. Two hundred and seventy-two patients were submitted to three successive NGS-based gene panels composed of 58, 146, and 312 genes. Along with pathogenic and likely pathogenic causative gene variants, accounting for the corresponding disorders (37/272 patients, 13.6%), a number of either rare (probably) damaging variants in genes unrelated to patients' phenotype, variants of unknown significance (VUS) in genes consistent with their clinics, or apparently inconsistent benign, likely benign, or VUS variants were also detected. Finally, a remarkable amount of yet unreported variants of unknown significance were also found, often recurring in our dataset. The NGS approach demonstrated an expected IEI diagnostic rate. However, defining the appropriate list of genes for these panels may not be straightforward, and the application of unbiased approaches should be taken into consideration, especially when patients show atypical clinical pictures.