Efficacy and Safety of Sinopharm Vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 and breakthrough infections in Iranian Patients with Hemoglobinopathies: A Preliminary Report.

Background: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has led to high morbidity and mortality worldwide. Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 is a leading strategy to change the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aims of the study: Our aim was to investigate the efficacy and side effects of the Sinopharm vaccine in patients with hemoglobinopathies in Iran and the frequency of breakthrough infection after a full course of vaccination. Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional study of 434 patients with hemoglobinopathies (303 ß-thalassemia major, 118 ß-thalassemia intermedia, and 13 sickle-thalassemia) were conducted from March to July 2021 in IRAN. All patients have received the first dose of the China Sinopharm vaccine and received the second dose of the vaccine 28 days apar. Antibody testing: Detection of immunity after vaccination was evaluated by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Pishtazteb ELISA commercial kit), including a surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT), for detection of SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulins (IgA, IgM, IgG), total neutralizing antibody (NAb). Results: The mean age of patients was 35.0 ± 8.5 (from 18 to 70) years, and 55.6% were positive for the antibody. Overall, 48.2% of the studied population had at least one side effect after vaccination. The most frequent side effects were fever and chills, dizziness, and body pain. A total of 90 (20.7%) vaccinated patients developed breakthrough infections after two doses of Sinopharm vaccination. Disease severity was recorded, and it was classified as mild in 77.8%, moderate in 13.6%, and severe in 7.4% of patients. One 28-year-old woman with ß-thalassemia major died eight days after diagnosing a breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conclusion: No safety concerns were identified in patients who received two doses of the Sinopharm vaccine. Its efficacy was not optimal due to the lack of effect on new variations of the virus. However, our data show that it seems to be protective against the severity of COVID-19 infection in patients with hemoglobinopathies. The frequency of breakthrough infections after two doses of Sinopharm vaccination supports the evolving dynamic of SARS-CoV-2 variants requiring special challenge since such infection may represent a risk for vulnerable patients.

Skewed intracellular cytokine production of iNKT cells toward Th2-related responses in alloimmunized thalassemia patients.

INTRODUCTION: Red blood cell alloimmunization is a challenging issue in thalassemia patients. Several studies have investigated the role of different immune system compartment in alloimmunization, but the exact mechanism remains unclear. Considering the immunoregulatory function of iNKT cells and their subsets, in this study, we evaluated the possible role of these cells in alloimmunization status of thalassemia patients. METHODS: 78 ß-thalassemia major patients (41 alloimmunized and 37 non-alloimmunized) and 17 healthy controls were engaged in this study. Mononuclear cells were isolated from peripheral blood samples and stimulated for cytokine production. Samples were subjected to flow cytometry for enumeration of iNKT cells and characterized based on their cytokine production pattern. Finally, the results correlated with alloimmunization status, clinical and laboratory data. RESULTS: Results demonstrated that the number of iNKT, iNKT+IFN-ɤ+, and iNKT+IL-4+ cells in thalassemia group was significantly higher than healthy controls while no significant change was observed in the number of these cells between alloimmunized and non-alloimmunized thalassemia patients. Interestingly, the ratio of iNKT+IL-4+: iNKT+IFN-γ+ cells in alloimmunized thalassemia group represent a considerable increase in comparison to both non-alloimmunized thalassemia group and healthy controls. However, evaluating this value in non-alloimmunized group represents an approximately equal ratio of 0.94, which was almost similar to this ratio in the control group (0.99). CONCLUSION: Our results illustrated a noteworthy imbalance in the ratio of iNKT cell subsets in favour of IL-4 producing iNKT cells in alloimmunized thalassemia patients. Regarding the role of IL-4 in stimulating the Th2-related immune responses, this imbalance could consider as a possible mechanism in alloantibody responses of thalassemia patients.

Effects of three months of treatment with vitamin E and N-acetyl cysteine on the oxidative balance in patients with transfusion-dependent ß-thalassemia.

Oxidative stress is a major mechanism contributing to the progression of ß-thalassemia. To assess the effect of vitamin E and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) as antioxidant agents on total oxidative stress (TOS) status and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in patients with transfusion-dependent ß-thalassemia (TDT). In this open-label randomized controlled trial, from May to August 2019, 78 eligible patients with TDT over the age of 18 were enrolled. All patients were registered at the Thalassemia Clinic of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Southern Iran. Patients were randomly allocated to the NAC group (10 mg/kg/day, orally), vitamin E group (10 U/kg/day, orally), and control group. The duration of the study was 3 months. The mean age of the participants was 28.5 ± 5.1 (range: 18-41) years. At the end of the study, TOS significantly decreased only in the vitamin E group (mean difference (MD), 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.27 (0.03-0.50), P = 0.026). TAC significantly decreased in both supplemented groups at the 3rd month of treatment (NAC group: MD (95% CI): 0.11 (0.04-0.18), P = 0.002 and vitamin E group: 0.09 (0.01-0.16), P = 0.022 respectively). Hemoglobin did not significantly change at the end of the study in each group (P > 0.05). Mild transient adverse events occurred in 4 patients of the NAC group and 5 patients of the vitamin E group with no need to discontinue the treatment. Vitamin E can be a safe and effective supplement in improving oxidative stress in patients with TDT. Moreover, it seems that a longer duration of using antioxidant supplements needs to make clinical hematologic improvement in TDT patients.

Evaluation of regulatory T cells frequency and FoxP3/GDF-15 gene expression in ß-thalassemia major patients with and without alloantibody; correlation with serum ferritin and folate levels.

ß-thalassemia major is one of the most common hematologic disorders in the world. It causes severe anemia and patients require regular blood transfusions, which causes different complications such as iron overload and alloimmunization. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) have an important role in regulation of immune responses. FoxP3 is the major marker of Tregs and its expression can be influenced by different factors. GDF-15 is another gene that plays a role in iron homeostasis and regulation of immune system in different diseases. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of Tregs and FoxP3/GDF-15 gene expression in ß-thalassemia major patients with and without alloantibody as well as its correlation with different factors such as serum ferritin and folate levels. This study was conducted on 68 ß-thalassemia major patients with and without alloantibodies in comparison with 20 healthy individuals with matched age and sex as control group. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), flow cytometry, and real-time PCR were performed in order to evaluate serum ferritin and folate levels, frequency of Tregs, and the expression of FoxP3 and GDF-15 genes, respectively. The percentage and absolute count of Tregs were increased in patients compared with controls (P = 0.0003), but there was no difference between responders and non-responders (P > 0.05). The Tregs count correlated positively with serum ferritin. No correlation was observed between target genes and serum ferritin and folate, but there was a positive significant correlation between the expression of FoxP3 and GDF-15 genes, which shows the immunosuppressive role of GDF-15.

Evaluation of Efficacy, Safety, and Satisfaction Taking Deferasirox Twice Daily Versus Once Daily in Patients With Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia.

OBJECTIVE: Deferasirox is a once-daily oral iron-chelation agent approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in November 2005. The authors aimed to evaluate efficacy, safety, and satisfaction of patients regarding twice-daily dose of deferasirox in patients with thalassemia who are resistant to once-daily regimen. METHODS: In this historical cohort multicenter study, 34 patients with beta-thalassemia major resistant or intolerant to once-daily dose of deferasirox (35 mg/kg/d) were investigated in 2016. Patients were registered at 3 thalassemia referral centers in Shiraz, southern Iran and Tehran, the capital of Iran. All patients were followed for 1 year and monitored by regular physical examination, laboratory data, serum ferritin levels, and heart and liver T2 magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: Mean age of thalassemia patients was 25.6±8.1 (8 to 40) years, including 22 female individuals and 12 male individuals. Serum ferritin levels significantly decreased during the study period (2021±955 at baseline vs. 1228±894 at the end of the study, P<0.001). Liver T2 magnetic resonance imaging of the patients demonstrated a significant improvement during the study. 73.3% of patients showed normal values at the end of study compared with 28.1% at the baseline (P<0.001). Drug side effects were reported only in 2 patients (5.8%) including 1 patient with abdominal pain and 1 with leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that deferasirox can be used with increased dose and twice daily with acceptable efficacy in unresponsive or intolerant thalassemia patients to once-daily dose. Close monitoring of the patients is necessary to detect and manage any possible adverse events.

Effect of different iron chelation regimens on bone mass in transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients.

Objectives: Iron overload might lead to bone loss in transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia (TDT) patients. To investigate the role of iron chelation therapy (ICT) on bone mineral density (BMD) of TDT patients suffering from iron overload, the authors compared the efficacy of five different iron chelation regimens through assessing serum ferritin and BMD.Methods: In 256 consecutive TDT patients, BMD was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in lumbar spine and femoral neck regions. Treatment outcome of five iron chelation regimens including Deferoxamine (DFO), Deferiprone (DFP), Deferasirox (DFX), and combination therapy was evaluated to compare the mean differences of serum ferritin and BMD indices pre- and post-treatment during 12-months follow-up period.Results: No significant difference was observed in DXA characteristics and serum ferritin level changes between ICT groups, but combination of DFO and DFX had the best outcome in improving bone mass through assessing each group individually.Conclusion: Combination therapy with DFX and DFO had the highest impact on reducing serum ferritin, however insignificant, and improving bone loss in both lumbar spine and femoral neck in comparison with other regimens. A randomized prospective clinical trial is advised to accurately assess the efficacy of iron chelation regimens on BMD measurements of TDT patients.

Comparative effectiveness of alendronate and zoledronic acid on bone mass improvement in transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients.

Thalassemia, as the most prevalent genetic blood disorder, has many associated comorbidities including low bone mass. We studied the comparative effectiveness of alendronate (AL) and zoledronic acid (ZOL) on bone mass improvement in transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT) patients a year after treatment. Three hundred seventy-five TDT patients with low bone mass were enrolled in this study. After a year of treatment with either AL or ZOL, a second bone mineral density (BMD) test was ordered to compare the effectiveness of the two aforementioned drugs. Body mass index (BMI), physical activity, sun exposure, and biochemical laboratory data were also considered as associated factors in this study. The BMD test of both groups was almost the same at the baseline and it increased comparably after a year of treatment with AL and ZOL. However, there was a significant difference in lumbar spine BMD delta Z score between both groups of female patients. ZOL was more effective in increasing the lumbar spine BMD of female patients. The choice of bisphosphonates therapy (oral versus parenteral) should be individually selected by considering patient's preference, compliance and the physician's decision. Given the longer administration interval, and TDT patients' compliance issue, it is justified to recommend ZOL as the drug of choice for patients suffering from low bone mass.

Severe hemophilia in a girl infant with mosaic Turner syndrome and persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous.

A 6-month-old girl was referred by an ophthalmologist because of postoperative bleeding. She was scheduled for operation because of persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous. Workups were done and prolonged partial thromboplastin time with normal platelet count, normal bleeding time, and prothrombin time were detected. There was negative family history of bleeding tendency in both maternal and paternal family, so at the first step, Factor XI assay was requested which was normal. Then, von Willebrand factor and factor VIII were assayed which was 127% and less than 1%, respectively. Severe factor VIII deficiency was not suspected in a girl unless in siblings of a hemophilic patient who gets married with her carrier cousin. Chromosomal study and genetic testing were requested and mosaic Turner syndrome (45 XO) with ring X (p22, 2q13) along with inversion 22 (hemizygote) was detected. Abdominal and pelvic sonography showed absence of both ovaries with presence of infantile uterus. Maternal genetic study was in favor of carrier of hemophilia (heterozygote inversion 22). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of association of Turner syndrome with severe hemophilia A and persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous.

Evaluation of Thrombin Generation Assay in Patients With Hemophilia.

We evaluated the correlation between thrombin generation (TG) parameters with bleeding symptoms and disease severity in patients with hemophilia. In this cross-sectional study, 59 patients with hemophilia without inhibitors and regardless of their severity were randomly selected from southern Iran and TG assays were conducted. Bleeding score (BS) was calculated by performing a clinical evaluation using Tosetto questionnaire. Only lag time showed a statistically significant correlation with BS (rs = .316,P= .016). All TG parameters except peak showed association with disease severity (P< .05). Endogenous thrombin potential showed a significant correlation with factor activity level (rs = .459,P< .001). Both lag time and start tail showed significant negative correlations with factor activity level (rs = -0.488,P< .001 andrs = - .289,P< .026, respectively). Although most of the TG parameters evaluated were not significantly correlated with the BS of patients with hemophilia, the majority of TG parameters were significantly associated with factor activity level and disease severity.

Serum cancer antigen 15.3 concentrations in patients with betathalassemia minor compared to those with cancer and healthy individuals.

BACKGROUND: High serum level of cancer antigen 15.3 (CA15.3) has been reported in some malignant and nonmalignant conditions including thalassemia major which could have been resulted from ineffective erythropoiesis. We aimed to evaluate the serum level of CA15.3 in carriers of beta-thalassemia by comparing them with cancer patients and healthy individuals. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was done from February to December 2011 in Southern Iran. Participants consisted of 32 subjects with beta-thalassemia minor, 49 with cancer and 25 healthy individuals. The serum levels of CA15.3 were measured and compared in different groups. RESULTS: The serum levels of CA 15.3 in all participants were in the normal range (<35 U/mL). Also it did not significantly differ among various groups of the participants (p=0.723). Age was not significantly correlated with the serum level of CA 15.3 (r= 0.039, p=0.702). The most frequent cancer in the group of patients with malignancies was hematologic malignancies (96%) with the highest frequency for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (37 patients). Frequency of thalassemia minor in patients with cancer was 11 (22.4%). CONCLUSION: No correlation was found between CA 15.3 serum level with beta-thalssemia minor or with childhood malignancies. Compared to general population, a high proportion of beta-thalssemia minor was observed in patients with cancer in our study. Future prospective studies are needed to evaluate the relationship between cancer and beta-thalassemia minor accurately.