Changes of CD3+CD56+ γδ T cell number and apoptosis during hospital admission are related to mortality in septic patients.

Immunoparalysis and apoptosis of T cells are serious problems for the evolution of septic patients. We aimed to relate changes in the number of αß and γδ T cells during hospital stay to the poor evolution of sepsis. In this prospective study, we recruited a total of 92 septic patients from the Emergency and Intensive Care Departments of two Hospitals, according to the latest criteria for the definition and management of sepsis. According to the severity of the septic process, there was a progressive decrease in T cells, being much more intense in γδ T cells. This decrease recovered in surviving patients, but CD3+CD56+ γδ T cells continued to decreased during hospital stay in non-surviving patients. Apoptosis increased in sepsis. Cell death of CD3+CD56+ γδ T cells progressively increased according to the severity of sepsis, especially in non-surviving patients.

[Newborn screening : the point of view of the paediatrician]. / Dépistage néonatal : le point de vue du pédiatre.

Newborn screening is a public health effort that has changed the prognosis of some congenital diseases. Newborn screening programmes differ between countries in which it is organized. Demographic, epidemiological or economic factors play a role in the choice of the screening panel. In the French Community of Belgium, the programme focuses on 13 metabolic and endocrine diseases, hearing loss and hemoglobinopathies (Brussels and Liege). Newborn screening is a complex process that requires the involvement of all stakeholders : parent information, blood sampling or testing, lab analysis, follow-up of the results, initiate adequate care in case of positive test and genetic counselling. Newborn screening programmes will evolve in the next years. New therapeutic and diagnostic methods will make other genetic diseases candidates for screening. Whole genome sequencing may be the next expansion; it will create new opportunities but will pose new ethical dilemmas. We must all prepare now for future challenges.

RFT1-CDG: deafness as a novel feature of congenital disorders of glycosylation.

Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are genetic diseases due to defects in the synthesis of glycans and in the attachment of glycans to lipids and proteins. Actually, some 42 CDG are known including defects in protein N-glycosylation, in protein O-glycosylation, in lipid glycosylation, and in multiple and other glycosylation pathways. Most CDG are multisystem diseases and a large number of signs and symptoms have already been reported in CDG. An exception to this is deafness. This symptom has not been observed as a consistent feature in CDG. In 2008, a novel defect was identified in protein N-glycosylation, namely in RFT1. This is a defect in the assembly of N-glycans. RFT1 is involved in the transfer of Man(5)GlcNAc(2)-PP-Dol from the cytoplasmic to the luminal side of the endoplasmic reticulum. According to the novel nomenclature (non-italicized gene symbol followed by -CDG) this defect is named RFT1-CDG. Recently, three other patients with RFT1-CDG have been reported and here we report two novel patients. Remarkably, all six patients with RFT1-CDG show sensorineural deafness as part of a severe neurological syndrome. We conclude that RFT1-CDG is the first 'deafness-CDG'. CDG should be included in the work-up of congenital, particularly syndromic, hearing loss.

MALDI-MS profiling of serum O-glycosylation and N-glycosylation in COG5-CDG.

Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are due to defective glycosylation of glycoconjugates. Conserved oligomeric Golgi (COG)-CDG are genetic diseases due to defects of the COG complex subunits 1-8 causing N-glycan and O-glycan processing abnormalities. In COG-CDG, isoelectric focusing separation of undersialylated glycoforms of serum transferrin and apolipoprotein C-III (apoC-III) allows to detect N-glycosylation and O-glycosylation defects, respectively. COG5-CDG (COG5 subunit deficiency) is a multisystem disease with dysmorphic features, intellectual disability of variable degree, seizures, acquired microcephaly, sensory defects and autistic behavior. We applied matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-MS for a high-throughput screening of differential serum O-glycoform and N-glycoform in five patients with COG5-CDG. When compared with age-matched controls, COG5-CDG showed a significant increase of apoC-III0a (aglycosylated glycoform), whereas apoC-III1 (mono-sialylated glycoform) decreased significantly. Serum N-glycome of COG5-CDG patients was characterized by the relative abundance of undersialylated and undergalactosylated biantennary and triantennary glycans as well as slight increase of high-mannose structures and hybrid glycans. Using advanced and well-established MS-based approaches, the present findings reveal novel aspects on O-glycan and N-glycan profiling in COG5-CDG patients, thus providing an increase of current knowledge on glycosylation defects caused by impairment of COG subunits, in support of clinical diagnosis. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ALG11-CDG: Three novel mutations and further characterization of the phenotype.

We report on two novel patients with ALG11-CDG. The phenotype was characterized by severe psychomotor disability, progressive microcephaly, sensorineural hearing loss, therapy-resistant epilepsy with burst suppression EEG, cerebral atrophy with, in one of them, neuronal heterotopia, and early lethality. Analysis of ALG11 revealed compound heterozygosity involving three novel mutations: the splice site mutation c.45-2A > T, the c.36dupG duplication, and the missense mutation c.479G > T (p.G160V) that was present in both.

Cellular and ultra structural evidence for cytoskeletal localization of prolyl endopeptidase-like protein in neurons.

The biochemical properties and subcellular localization of prolyl endopeptidase (PREP) in brain are well characterized and its implications in the realization of cognitive processes and in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders are a matter of intensive investigation. In contrast, very little is known about its homolog, the PREP-like protein (PREPL). In order to obtain initial hints about the involvement of PREPL in physiological processes, a differential proteomic screen was performed with human skin fibroblasts from controls and patients with PREPL deficiency (hypotonia-cystinuria syndrome). The majority of affected proteins represented cytoskeletal proteins, including caldesmon, tropomyosin α3 chain, lamin A, ß-actin, γ-actin, vimentin and zyxin. Therefore, the analysis of PREPL subcellular localization by confocal laser scanning and electron microscopy in mouse neurons was focused on the cytoskeleton. The co-localization of PREPL with cytoskeletal marker proteins such as ß-actin and microtubulin-associated protein-2 was observed, in addition to the presence of PREPL within Golgi apparatus and growth cones. In the mouse brain, PREPL is neuronally expressed and highly abundant in neocortex, substantia nigra and locus coeruleus. This mirrors to some extent the distribution pattern of PREP and points toward redundant functions of both proteins. In the human neocortex, PREPL immunostaining was found in the cytoplasm and in neuropil, in particular of layer V pyramidal neurons. This staining was reduced in the neocortex of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Moreover, in AD brains, PREPL immunoreactivity was observed in the nucleus and in varicose neuritic processes. Our data indicate physiological functions of PREPL associated with the cytoskeleton, which may be affected under conditions of cytoskeletal degeneration.

Risk factors for elevated levels of 17-hydroxyprogesterone during neonatal intensive care unit admission.

INTRODUCTION: Screening for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) by measurement of 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) in dried blood spots results in a high false positive rate among preterm newborns admitted in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We searched for risk factors of this population for raised 17-OHP levels. METHODS: We retrospectively collected clinical characteristics (prenatal, at birth, postnatal) in newborns with an increased 17-OHP level at initial screening (> 30 nmol/L for a birth weight > 2000 g and > or = 60 nmol/L for a birth weight < or = 2000 g), that turned out to be false positive (no CAH). The correlation of these characteristics with individual 17-OHP levels was evaluated. We also performed a case-control study matched for gestational age (GA). RESULTS: In 94 screened newborns 17-OHP levels were raised at initial screening. Negative correlations were found between 17-OHP levels and GA and birth weight, positive correlations with prenatal betamethasone administration and several parameters of respiratory disease. In a multiple regression model GA was the dominant variable. In the case control study with 91 index patients admitted to the NICU (91/1275 newborns admitted to the NICU, 7.1%) a positive correlation with respiratory disease was confirmed and cases had a significant higher birth weight and a significant lower incidence of prenatal betamethasone administration. Application of new cutoff tables adjusted by GA and/or day of sampling would have resulted in a reduction in false positive rate. CONCLUSION: The dominant risk factor for a false positive screening during NICU admission is GA. Prenatal administration of betamethasone and birth weight are more complex risk factors. These observations support the use of new cut-off values based on GA to reduce the problem of false positive screening.

TUBA1A mutations: from isolated lissencephaly to familial polymicrogyria.

BACKGROUND: Mutations in the TUBA1A gene have been reported in patients with lissencephaly and perisylvian pachygyria. METHODS: Twenty-five patients with malformations of cortical development ranging from lissencephaly to polymicrogyria were screened for mutations in TUBA1A. RESULTS: Two novel heterozygous missense mutations in TUBA1A were identified: c.629A>G (p.Tyr210Cys) occurring de novo in a boy with lissencephaly, and c.13A>C (p.Ile5Leu) affecting 2 sisters with polymicrogyria whose mother presented somatic mosaicism for the mutation. CONCLUSIONS: Mutations in TUBA1A have been described in patients with lissencephaly and pachygyria. We report a mutation in TUBA1A as a cause of polymicrogyria. So far, all mutations in TUBA1A have occurred de novo, resulting in isolated cases. This article describes familial recurrence of TUBA1A mutations due to somatic mosaicism in a parent. These findings broaden the phenotypic spectrum associated with TUBA1A mutations and have implications for genetic counseling.

Clinical and biochemical features of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the current treatment; clinical, biochemical, and molecular findings; and clinical follow-up of patients with aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency. METHOD: Clinical and biochemical data of 78 patients with AADC deficiency were tabulated in a database of pediatric neurotransmitter disorders (JAKE). A total of 46 patients have been previously reported; 32 patients are described for the first time. RESULTS: In 96% of AADC-deficient patients, symptoms (hypotonia 95%, oculogyric crises 86%, and developmental retardation 63%) became clinically evident during infancy or childhood. Laboratory diagnosis is based on typical CSF markers (low homovanillic acid, 5-hydroxyindoleacidic acid, and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenolglycole, and elevated 3-O-methyl-l-dopa, l-dopa, and 5-hydroxytryptophan), absent plasma AADC activity, or elevated urinary vanillactic acid. A total of 24 mutations in the DDC gene were detected in 49 patients (8 reported for the first time: p.L38P, p.Y79C, p.A110Q, p.G123R, p.I42fs, c.876G>A, p.R412W, p.I433fs) with IVS6+ 4A>T being the most common one (allele frequency 45%). CONCLUSION: Based on clinical symptoms, CSF neurotransmitters profile is highly indicative for the diagnosis of aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency. Treatment options are limited, in many cases not beneficial, and prognosis is uncertain. Only 15 patients with a relatively mild form clearly improved on a combined therapy with pyridoxine (B6)/pyridoxal phosphate, dopamine agonists, and monoamine oxidase B inhibitors.

Long-term survival of patients with acute myeloid leukemia: a third follow-up of the Fourth International Workshop on Chromosomes in Leukemia.

BACKGROUND: In 1982, the Fourth International Workshop on Chromosomes in Leukemia reviewed data prospectively collected on 716 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) diagnosed between 1980 and 1982. The present study examined the extended follow-up on these patients. METHODS: The analyses included cytogenetic and clinical data, with a median follow-up of 14.7 years, from 54 patients with treatment-associated AML and 628 with de novo AML. Of these patients, 291 received induction therapy that would be considered standard by today's criteria; no patient received high-dose cytarabine (HiDAC) intensification. RESULTS: Among the patients with treatment-associated AML, the only long-term survivor in retrospect appears to have had de novo AML. Among the patients with de novo AML, achievement of complete remission and survival varied significantly based on cytogenetic classification among all 628 patients as well as among those who did and did not receive standard induction therapy. The remission rate and survival were significantly better with standard induction therapy for patients with t(15;17) and normal cytogenetics. Multivariate analyses showed that karyotype was an independent predictor of survival for all patients and those receiving standard induction therapy. Only 8.9% of patients were alive 5 years following diagnosis, but 5 years of continuous remission was synonymous with cure. Even among 5-year survivors who had suffered a previous relapse, 41% appeared to be cured. Survival among patients in continuous remission for > or = 10 years varied significantly by cytogenetic classification. In the absence of HiDAC intensification, no complete responders with t(8;21) and only 7% with normal cytogenetics survived continuously 10 years disease free. CONCLUSIONS: Cure of AML following specific therapies must be evaluated in the context of cytogenetics. A meta-analysis incorporating cytogenetic data is indicated for patients with > or = 10 years of follow-up.