Primary immunodeficiency disorders in Iran: update and new insights from the third report of the national registry.

BACKGROUND: Primary immunodeficiency disorders (PID) are a group of heterogeneous disorders mainly characterized by severe and recurrent infections and increased susceptibility to malignancies, lymphoproliferative and autoimmune conditions. National registries of PID disorders provide epidemiological data and increase the awareness of medical personnel as well as health care providers. METHODS: This study presents the demographic data and clinical manifestations of Iranian PID patients who were diagnosed from March 2006 till the March of 2013 and were registered in Iranian PID Registry (IPIDR) after its second report of 2006. RESULTS: A total number of 731 new PID patients (455 male and 276 female) from 14 medical centers were enrolled in the current study. Predominantly antibody deficiencies were the most common subcategory of PID (32.3 %) and were followed by combined immunodeficiencies (22.3 %), congenital defects of phagocyte number, function, or both (17.4 %), well-defined syndromes with immunodeficiency (17.2 %), autoinflammatory disorders (5.2 %), diseases of immune dysregulation (2.6 %), defects in innate immunity (1.6 %), and complement deficiencies (1.4 %). Severe combined immunodeficiency was the most common disorder (21.1 %). Other prevalent disorders were common variable immunodeficiency (14.9 %), hyper IgE syndrome (7.7 %), and selective IgA deficiency (7.5 %). CONCLUSIONS: Registration of Iranian PID patients increased the awareness of medical community of Iran and developed diagnostic and therapeutic techniques across more parts of the country. Further efforts must be taken by increasing the coverage of IPIDR via electronically registration and gradual referral system in order to provide better estimation of PID in Iran and reduce the number of undiagnosed cases.

BAK, BAX, and NBK/BIK proapoptotic gene alterations in Iranian patients with ataxia telangiectasia.

INTRODUCTION: Ataxia telangiectasia (AT) is an autosomal recessive multisystem disorder characterized by variable immunodeficiency, progressive neurodegeneration, occulocutaneous telangiectasia, and an increased susceptibility to malignancies. This study was designed to study the role of proapoptotic BAK, BAX, and NBK/BIK genes in a group of patients with AT to elucidate the possible role of these genes in progression of malignancies in this disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty Iranian patients with AT were investigated in this study. The entire coding regions of the BAK gene (exons 2-6), NBK/BIK gene (exons 2-5), and BAX gene (exons 1-7) were amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR products were separated by 2% agarose gel electrophoresis, and all positive samples were verified by direct sequencing of PCR products using the same primers used for PCR amplification, BigDye chemistry, and Avent 3100 Genetic Analyzer following the manufacturer's instructions (Applied Biosystems). RESULTS: Eight of fifty Iranian AT patients (16%) exhibited a C > T transition in exon 2 (c342C > T) of the BAK gene, while none of the healthy controls had such alteration (P = 0.0001). Higher frequency of another nucleotide substitution in the noncoding region of exon 7 in BAX gene (6855G > A) was also identified in 68% of the patient group versus 24% in the controls (P < 0.0001). Sequence alteration in intronic region of the NBK/BIK gene IVS4-12delTC was observed in 52% of AT patients, which was significantly higher than 20% in the control group (P = 0.0023). Another variant IVS1146C > T in the intronic region of the BAX gene was found in 78% of patients, which was significantly higher than 10% in the controls (P < 0.0001). Frequency of alteration in intronic region of exon 3 of the BAX gene (IVS3 + 14A > G) was also significantly higher in the AT patients (P < 0.0001). DISCUSSION: Several alterations in the proapoptotic genes BAK, NBK/BIK, and BAX were found in our study, which could elucidate involvement of the mitochondrial pathway mediated apoptosis in accelerating and developing of cancers and in immunopathogenesis of AT. Such altered apoptosis in AT could play some roles in developing cancers in this group of patients.

The Effects of a Peer-Counseling Program on Increase Rate and Continuity of Lactation in Tehran Nursing Mothers.

Objective: The practice of breastfeeding is considered a blessing since its effects on health are well recognized and applies to both mothers and infants. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of peer support and training on breastfeeding initiation, duration and exclusivity. Materials and methods: This community-based clinical trial, (IRCT No: 201504049568N12), was conducted during 2015 in the Municipality of Tehran 19 District. First, a total of 150 mothers with their infants from 4 to 20 months of age were asked to complete a questionnaire, which included the demographic characteristics, educational level, and the type of lactation, the initial age of infant for breastfeeding, and the duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Afterwards, 25 volunteer women were selected for lactation counseling. After 6 months, another sample of 116 nursing mothers in the region who had received peer counseling was selected and questioned through the previously mentioned questionnaire. Finally, the results, which were collected from the behavior of the target population before and after the intervention, were compared. Results: The results of the present study indicated that the nursing mothers who received peer counseling proved to have longer durations of breastfeeding (P-value = 0.039), and higher frequency of first hour initiation of breastfeeding (P-value = 0.003) however, the volunteer counselors were mainly housewives who had lower levels of education (P-value = 0.009) and were younger (P-value = 0.009) than those of untrained control group. Conclusion: The study demonstrated the significant effect of peer counseling on breastfeeding initiation and continuation. It is suggested that lactation training could be initiated during the prenatal period along with the conventional methods of training.

Targeted Gene Panel Sequencing for Early-onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Chronic Diarrhea.

BACKGROUND: In contrast to adult-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), where many genetic loci have been shown to be involved in complex disease etiology, early-onset IBD (eoIBD) and associated syndromes can sometimes present as monogenic conditions. As a result, the clinical phenotype and ideal disease management in these patients often differ from those in adult-onset IBD. However, due to high costs and the complexity of data analysis, high-throughput screening for genetic causes has not yet become a standard part of the diagnostic work-up of eoIBD patients. METHODS: We selected 28 genes of interest associated with monogenic IBD and performed targeted panel sequencing in 71 patients diagnosed with eoIBD or early-onset chronic diarrhea to detect causative variants. We compared these results to whole-exome sequencing (WES) data available for 25 of these patients. RESULTS: Target coverage was significantly higher in the targeted gene panel approach compared with WES, whereas the cost of the panel was considerably lower (approximately 25% of WES). Disease-causing variants affecting protein function were identified in 5 patients (7%), located in genes of the IL10 signaling pathway (3), WAS (1), and DKC1 (1). The functional effects of 8 candidate variants in 5 additional patients (7%) are under further investigation. WES did not identify additional causative mutations in 25 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Targeted gene panel sequencing is a fast and effective screening method for monogenic causes of eoIBD that should be routinely established in national referral centers.

Prenatal diagnosis of leukocyte adhesion deficiency type-1 (five cases from iran with two new mutations).

Leukocyte adhesion deficiency type-1(LAD-1) is one of the immunodeficiency autosomal recessive diseases that results from mutation in integrin, beta 2 (complement component 3 receptor 3 and 4 subunit) ITGB2 gene. The aim of this study was to investigate molecular prenatal diagnosis of LAD-1. Four pregnant women with five fetuses (one pregnancy was twin) with clinical and laboratory diagnosis of LAD-1 in their previous children were studied. The chorionic villus sampling (CVS) was obtained when mothers were in 10-12th weeks of gestation. Mutation analysis of ITGB2 gene for affected children revealed 3 misssense mutations (c.382G>A, a novel mutation, c.2146G>C, and c.715G>A) and one splice site novel mutation (c.1877+2G>A). All of Parents were heterozygous for these mutations. Consideration of affected gene regions for five CVS samples showed two homozygotes and one heterozygote for mutant allele and two homozygotes for normal allele. Interestingly, one of the twin fetuses was affected and another was normal. Briefly, two cases of CVS samples were affected and three cases of remained CVS samples were unaffected.This is the first report of prenatal diagnosis of LAD-1 from Iran with two new mutations that can be used for genetic and prenatal diagnosis for all patients suspected to LAD1 and can be helpful to prevent the birth of affected children with LAD-1. This abstract presented in the second international congress of Immunology, Asthma and Allergy, Tehran, Iran 2013.

Increased expression of CD69 antigen on human peripheral blood natural killer cells in patients with allergic rhinitis.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is an inflammatory disorder of the nasal mucosa with high morbidity and prevalence. Natural killer (NK) cells might have a role in AR. We aimed to evaluate the changes of the markers and receptors on NK cells in AR patients compared to the non-atopic controls.Flow cytometric analysis was used with double staining of the Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) to examine the expression of CD25 and CD69 markers, and NKG2D and NKG2A receptors on NK cells of 20 patients with AR and 20 non-atopic controls. The serum total IgE level was measured by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay.The expression of CD69 antigen on NK cells in AR patients was significantly higher than that of healthy group (p=0.03). No significant changes were observed between CD25, NKG2D and NKG2A expression on the surface of NK cells from healthy and AR subjects. Our study also showed that there was no significant correlation between the expression of CD69, CD25, NKG2D and NKG2A and level of serum total IgE in AR patients and normal subjects.These results indicated that the expression of CD69 antigen on NK cells of AR patients was increased. The high expression of CD69 on NK cells in AR patients suggested that these cells were activated, probably due to the cytokines secreted from allergen-stimulated T cells and activated monocytes.

CD40 ligand expression on stimulated T-helper lymphocytes in patients with common variable immunodeficiency.

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most common symptomatic primary antibody deficiency, characterized by reduced serum immunoglobulins levels and increased susceptibility to recurrent pyogenic infections. In this study, we evaluated CD40 ligand expression on stimulated versus unstimulated T-helper lymphocytes of nine Common variable immunodeficient patients in comparison with fifteen normal controls. Phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and Ionomycin were used to stimulate cells in vitro. After six hours stimulation, the cells were subjected to surface staining with three-color staining procedure. Events were analyzed by flow cytometer, using FloMax software. Results were reported as the percentage of lymphocytes expressing CD markers. We did not find any significant statistical difference in CD40 ligand expression between patients and controls (p > 0.05), despite having stimulation documented by CD69 expression as activation marker in each run. The results of this study are in agreement with some other studies, indicating that CD40 ligand expression on stimulated T-helper lymphocytes of Common variable immunodeficiency patients is similar to normal controls.

Successful management of neutropenia in a patient with CD40 ligand deficiency by immunoglobulin replacement therapy.

Hyper-IgM syndromes are characterized by profound reduction of serum IgG, IgA, and IgE levels with normal or increased concentrations of serum IgM. CD40 ligand deficiency is X-linked form of the disease, which results in a lack of immunoglobulin class switching from IgM to IgG in B cells. In addition to the recurrent infections, a number of patients suffer from neutropenia. There are some evidences indicating the effect of G-CSF in combination with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in improvement of neutrophil counts, which has become the most common procedure to control neutropenia. In this report we present a 6 year-old patient of CD40 ligand deficiency, who suffered from chronic, severe neutropenia. Administration of IVIG was started for him when the diagnosis was made at the age of 1.5 years and he was on the regular IVIG therapy after that time untill now for a period of 4.5 years. IVIG and prophylactic antibiotic therapy, despite cessation of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, injection after one month, corrected the severe neutropenic state of this patient. It seems that regular administration of sufficient doses of IVIG can be useful in the management of neutropenia in CD40 ligand deficiency, which results in better quality of life with decreasing occurrence of infection.

Consanguinity in primary immunodeficiency disorders; the report from Iranian Primary Immunodeficiency Registry.

PROBLEM: Primary Immunodeficiency Disorders (PiD) are a heterogeneous group of genetic disorders, with different modes of inheritance. This study was accomplished in order to determine the frequency of consanguineous marriages in the families of patients with PiD. METHOD: In this study, the records 515 Iranian PiD patients were reviewed during a 25-year period. RESULTS: The mean proportion of consanguineous marriages was 65.6% among PiD patients, while the overall rate was 38.6% in the country. The rate of consanguinity was 77.8% in cellular immunodeficiencies, 75.8% in combined immunodeficiencies, 72.5% in defects of phagocytic function, 58.6% in other immunodefiiencies, 54.1% in predominantly antibody deficiencies, and 50% in complement deficiencies. Moreover all patients with immunodeficiency associated with other diseases had consanguineous parents. Such marriages were most common in the parents of patients with Chediak-Higashi syndrome, severe combined immunodeficiencies, primary CD4 deficiency, ataxia-telangiectasia, selective IgG class deficiencies, chronic granulomatous disease, and Schwachman syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to inform the general population about the dangers of consanguinity, which is very common in some areas such as Iran. Premarital examination to avoid genetic diseases could be suggested, especially in a community where the rate of consanguineous marriage is high.

Frequency and clinical manifestations of patients with primary immunodeficiency disorders in Iran: update from the Iranian Primary Immunodeficiency Registry.

Primary immunodeficiency disorders (PID) are a heterogeneous group of diseases, characterized by an increased susceptibility to infections. A total of 930 patients (573 males and 357 females) are registered in Iranian PID Registry (IPIDR) during three decades. Predominantly antibody deficiencies were the most common (38.4%), followed by congenital defects of phagocyte number and/or function (28.3%), other well-defined immunodeficiency syndromes (17.7%), combined T- and B-cell immunodeficiencies (11.0%), complement deficiencies (2.4%), and diseases of immune dysregulation (2.3%). Common variable immunodeficiency was the most frequent disorder (20.8%), followed by chronic granulomatous disease, ataxia-telangiectasia, btk deficiency, selective IgA deficiency, and T-B-severe combined immunodeficiency. The frequency of other PID disorders was less than 50 in number (<5%). There is an increasing trend in recognition of more PID in the recent years. Construction of such registry is not only important for its epidemiological aspect but also for its role in increasing the physician's knowledge about such disorders.

The Prevalence of Asthma among the Students (7-18 Years Old) in Tehran during 2002-2003.

Asthma is one of the most common problems of childhood, responsible for a significant proportion of abstinence from school because of chronic illness. This study was carried out among the school-aged children (7-18 years) in Tehran schools during 2002-2003, in order to determine the frequency of asthma. According to the recommendation of WHO (World Health Organization), we designed a questionnaire, containing 8 standard questions, and the students were given necessary information to complete the questionnaires. The pre-high and high schools students completed the questionnaires but the parents of primary school students completed them on their behalf. The prevalence of asthma was 35.4% in Tehran; this prevalence was higher in the boys (37.1%), as compared to the girls (33.5%). The prevalence of this disease has been estimated about 39.5% in pre-high schools, 35.4% in high schools and 31.6% in primary students. Based on this survey, the most common clinical manifestations of asthma were: prolonged cough lasting more than 10 days (22.4%), and exercise induced wheezing or dyspnea (16.9%), followed by repeated dyspnea or wheezing (6.4%). The prevalence of asthma is high among the students of Tehran schools and it needs more careful screening programs along with additional information to the patients and parents about the disease.

A review of gastrointestinal disorders in patients with primary antibody immunodeficiencies during a 10-year period (1990-2000), in children hospital medical center.

One of the most prevalent manifestations of primary antibody deficiencies is gastrointestinal disorders. In this study we reviewed 83 patients including 25 with X-Linked agammaglobulinemia, 40 with common variable immunodeficiency, 14 with IgA deficiency and 4 with IgG subclass deficiency. The mean age of patients was 10 year (1-28 years). The ratio of male to female was 1.5. Gastrointestinal system was affected in more than half (57.8%) of them. The most common symptom was diarrhea (56.6%) and the most prevalent pathogen was. G. Lamblia. Other disorders were chronic active hepatitis in 6 patients, ulcerative colitis in 2, small intestinal villus atrophy in 5, nodular lymphoid hyperplasia of small intestine in 3 and chronic gastritis in 4 patients. One patient suffered from abdominal lymphoma. We found a direct correlation between failure of patients to thrive and the duration of the delay in diagnosing the underlying disease. This difference was more apparent in those with both antibody deficiency and gastrointestinal involvement.

Adverse reactions of prophylactic intravenous immunoglobulin infusions in Iranian patients with primary immunodeficiency.

BACKGROUND: Although long-term intravenous immunoglobulin infusion is an effective treatment for children with antibody deficiencies, it can be complicated by systemic adverse reactions. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the adverse reactions of intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in patients with primary immunodeficiency. METHODS: Seventy-one immunodeficient patients receiving intravenous immunoglobulin were evaluated during a 7-year period (1995-2002) at Children's Medical Center in Tehran, Iran. Immunological diagnoses were as follows: common variable immunodeficiency (31 patients), X-linked agammaglobulinemia (25 patients), IgG subclass deficiency (5 patients), hyper-IgM syndrome (2 patients), and ataxia-telangiectasia (8 patients). RESULTS: One hundred fifty-two cases (12.35%) of adverse reactions occurred following 1,231 infusions in 35 patients. The most frequent immediate adverse reactions were mild reactions (131 infusions), including chills, fever, flushing, muscle pains, nausea, headache, and anxiety. Moderate reactions, such as vomiting, chest pain, and wheezing, occurred in 19 infusions. Two patients experienced severe adverse reactions. The highest proportion (23.06%) of reaction to injection was in patients with common variable immunodeficiency. CONCLUSIONS: Intravenous immunoglobulin is a well tolerated medical agent for patients with antibody deficiency. However, to prevent occurrence of immediate adverse reactions during infusion in these patients, physicians should perform a detailed history and proper physical examination and check the titer of anti-IgA.

Adverse effects of intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in patients with antibody deficiency.

Long-term intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) infusion is an effective treatment for children with humoral immunodeficiencies, already be complicated by systemic adverse effects. In order to determine the adverse effects of intravenous immunoglobulin in patients with antibody deficiency, 45 immunodeficient patients receiving intravenous immunoglobulin were studied during a 36 month period at Children's Medical Center. The investigated group included 25 patients with common variable immunodeficiency, 14 patients with X-linked agammaglobulinemia and 6 patients with IgG subclass deficiency. A total of fifty adverse effects occurred through 955 infusions (5.2%). The most frequent immediate adverse effects were mild (40 infusions out of 955) in 22 cases, including: chills, flushing, fever, nausea and headache. Three patients experienced moderate effects (10 infusions out of 955) such as rash, severe headache, joint pain and chest tightness. None of the effects was anaphylactic type. It can be concluded that intravenous immunoglobulin is generally a well-tolerated medical agent for patients with antibody deficiency, but all patients should be monitored by a physician who is familiar with its indications, risks, adverse effects and their appropriate management.

Mortality in primary immunodeficient patients, registered in Iranian primary immunodeficiency registry.

Primary immunodeficiencies (PID) are a group of disorders, characterized by an unusual susceptibility to infections. Delay in diagnosis results in increased morbidity and mortality in affected patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the mortality rate of Iranian immunodeficient patients referred to Children Medical Center Hospital affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences over a period of 20 years.In this study, records of 235 (146 males, 89 females) patients with immunodeficiency who were diagnosed and followed in our center, during 22 years period (1979-2001) were reviewed. The diagnosis of immunodeficiency was based on the standard criteria. The cause of death was determined by review of death certificates.Antibody deficiency was the most common diagnosis made in our patients. The overall five-year survival rate was 22.7% in our studied patient group; this was greatest in antibody deficiency. During the 22 year period of study, 32 patients died. As some of the patients could not be located, the true mortality rate ranged between 13.6% and 17.5%. The main leading cause of death were lower respiratory tract involvement in 14 cases (44%). The most common pathogenic microorganisms causing fatal infections were psudomonas and staphylococcus in 9 cases (28.1%) followed by E. coli in 7 (21.9%), tuberculosis in 13 (40.6%) and salmonella in 1 (3.1%).Based on our study, delay in diagnosis in patients with PID results in tissue and organ damage and several complications. Mortality and morbidity are increased in undiagnosed patients.

Neutropenia in patients with primary antibody deficiency disorders.

Neutropenia is characterized by decrease in the absolute number of circulating neutrophils and an increase susceptibility to infections. The current study was performed in order to explain the clinical and laboratory findings of patients with antibody deficiency disorders associated neutropenia. The patients' records of 19 neutropenic cases out of 207 patients with antibody deficiencies, who had been referred to Children's Medical Center and enrolled in Iranian primary immunodeficiency registry, were reviewed. Nineteen cases (14 male and 5 female), with a mean age of 10.7+/-5.7 years, were associated with neutropenia (9.2%). The disorders with associated neutropenia were Hyper IgM syndromes (3 of 8), Common variable immunodeficiency (13 of 109), and X-linked agammaglobulinemia (3 of 45). The median age for the onset of disease and diagnosis age were 15 months (1-134) and 3.8 years (6 months-13 years), respectively. The most common infections during the course of illness were pneumonia (13 cases), diarrhea (12 cases), oral candidiasis (9 cases), otitis media (6 cases), sinusitis (6 cases), cutaneous infections (5 cases), and abscess (5 cases). Other less frequent infections were: conjunctivitis, oral ulcers, meningitis, and osteomyelitis. Three neutropenic patients died because of recurrent infections. Neutropenia may occur in any of the primary immunodeficiency disorders. Persistent or severe infections always pose a supposition, which deserves further evaluation for detecting an underlying immune deficiency syndrome and neutropenia, since a delay in diagnosis may result in a serious organ damage or even death of the patient.

Gastrointestinal manifestations of patients with chronic granulomatous disease.

Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD) represents a group of inherited disorders of phagocytic system, manifesting recurrent infections at different sites. The present study was accomplished in order to determine the gastrointestinal manifestations of CGD patients. Fifty-seven patients (38 males and 19 females) with CGD, who had been referred to three immunodeficiency referral centers in Iran, were studied during a 24-year period (1980-2004). The median age at the time of study was 14.5 years old (1-56 years). The median onset age of symptoms was 5 months (1 month- 13.75 years), and that of diagnostic age was 5 years (2 months- 54.1 years), with a diagnostic delay of 33 months, on average. Seven patients were presented with acute diarrhea, 3 with oral candidiasis, and 2 with liver abscesses as the first chief complaints. Twenty-four cases (42.1%) had been complicated by gastrointestinal manifestations during their course of the disease. Of those, 12 cases (21.1%) had diarrhea, 7 (12.3%) oral candidiasis, 5 (8.8%) hepatitis, 4 (7.0%) hepatic abscess, and 2 cases (3.5%) gastric outlet obstruction. Also, failure to thrive was detected in 6 patients (10.5%). Four patients died (7%). CGD should be excluded in any patient with gastrointestinal manifestations especially chronic diarrhea, hepatic abscess, and gastric outlet obstruction.