Pre-conditioning Serum Uric Acid as a Risk Factor for Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome of the Liver in Children Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Uric acid, a known danger signal released from injured cells, is one of the valuable signs of inflammation. We aimed to evaluate the association of serum uric acid level before the start of conditioning regimen with the risk of hepatic SOS development after HSCT. Two hundred and twenty-two children who underwent allogeneic HSCT at the Pediatric BMT Unit of Hacettepe University between 2000 and 2014 were included in this retrospective study. Serum UA levels were measured before conditioning as an indicator of the pre-transplant inflammatory status of patients. Patients with or without diagnosis of SOS were compared regarding primary diagnosis, previously described risk factors for SOS and pre-conditioning serum UA. SOS was diagnosed in forty-two patients who had higher pre-conditioning serum UA levels compared to those who did not. Pre-transplant serum creatinine, GGT, bilirubin, ferritin and CRP didn’t differ significantly among the patients with or without SOS except serum albumin which was lower in the patients who developed SOS. ROC analysis revealed that pre-conditioning UA level higher than 3,32 mg/dl was predictive of SOS. When subjected to a multivariate model, only pre-conditioning UA and albumin levels remained significant risk factors for SOS (UA; OR, 2.54; 95%CI,1.26 to 5,12; P=0,009 and albumin; OR, 0.45; uncorrected proof 95%CI,0.22 to 0.95; P= 0.037). Our results suggest that pre-conditioning serum UA is an independent risk factor for SOS, and it might be used as an early predictor of hepatic SOS together with previously described clinical/laboratory parameters.Wo

Osteopetrotic Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Derived From Patients With Different Disease-Associated Mutations By Non-Integrating Reprogramming Methods

Background Autosomal recessive osteopetrosis is a genetically and phenotypically heterogeneous disease, caused by defects in osteoclast formation and function. The only available treatment is allogeneic stem cell transplantation that has still high morbidity and mortality. The goal of the present study was to generate iPSCs from bone marrow-derived MSCs of osteopetrosis patients with three most common mutations by using two different integration-free gene transfer methods and compare their efficiencies. The secondary objective was to select the most appropriate integration-free production method for our institutional iPSC bank using this rare disease as a prototype. Methods Two different integration-free gene transfer methods (episomal and Sendai viral vectors) were tested and compared on the same set of patient samples exhibiting three different mutations associated with osteopetrosis. Generated iPSCs were characterized by standard assays, including immunophenotyping, immunocytochemistry, RT-PCR, embryoid body, and teratoma assays. Karyotype analyses were performed to evaluate genetic stability. Results iPSC lines exhibiting typical ESC-like colony morphology were shown to express pluripotency markers by immunofluorescence staining. Over 90% of the cells were found positive for SSEA-4 and OCT3/4 and negative/weak positive for CD29 by flow cytometry. Immunohistochemical staining of teratoma and spontaneously differentiated embryoid body sections confirmed their trilineage differentiation potential. All iPSC lines expressed pluripotency-related genes. Karyotype analyses were found normal. Direct sequencing of PCR-amplified DNA showed that disease-related mutations were retained in the patient-specific iPSCs. Conclusion Generation of iPSC using SeV and episomal DNA vectors have several advantages over other methods like the ease of production, reliability, high efficiency, and safety, which is required for translational research. Furthermore, owing to the pluripotency and self-renewal capacity, patient-specific iPSCs seem to be ideal cell source for the modeling of a rare genetic bone disease like osteopetrosis to identify osteoclast defects, leading to clinical heterogeneity in osteopetrosis patients, especially among those with different mutations in the same gene. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13287-019-1316-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.PubMedWoSScopu

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children with Griscelli syndrome: A single-center experience.

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A Spectrum of Clinical Findings from ALPS to CVID: Several Novel LRBA Defects.

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Different kinetics and risk factors for isolated extramedullary relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children with acute leukemia

Relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) remains the most frequent cause of post-transplantation mortality. Isolated extramedullary (EM) relapse (iEMR) after HSCT is relatively rare and not well characterized, particularly in pediatric patients. We retrospectively analyzed 1527 consecutive pediatric patients with acute leukemia after allo-HSCT to study the incidence, risk factors, and outcome of iEMR compared with systemic relapse. The 5 -year cumulative incidence of systemic relapse (either bone marrow [BM] only or BM combined with EMR) was 24.8%, and that of iEMR was 5.5%. The onset of relapse after allo-HSCT was significantly longer in EM sites than in BM sites (7.19 and 5.58 months, respectively; P =.013). Complete response (CR) 2 +/active disease at transplantation (hazard ratio [HR], 3.1; P <.001) and prior EM disease (HR, 2.3; P =.007) were independent risk factors for iEMR. Chronic graft-versus-host disease reduced the risk of systemic relapse (HR, 0.5; P=.043) but did not protect against iEMR. The prognosis of patients who developed iEMR remained poor but was slightly better than that of patients who developed systemic relapse (3 -year overall survival, 16.5% versus 15.3%; P =.089). Patients experiencing their first systemic relapse continued to have further systemic relapse, but only a minority progressed to iEMR, whereas those experiencing their iEMR at first relapse developed further systemic relapse and iEMR at approximately similar frequencies. A second iEMR was more common after a first iEMR than after a first systemic relapse (58.8% versus 13.0%; P =.001) and was associated with poor outcome. iEMR has a poor prognosis, particularly after a second relapse, and effective strategies are needed to improve outcomes

A Spectrum of Clinical Findings from ALPS to CVID: Several Novel LRBA Defects

Introduction: Autosomal recessively inherited lipopolysaccharide-responsive beige-like anchor (LRBA) protein deficiency was shown to be responsible for different types of inborn errors of immunity, such as common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) and autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS). The aim of this study was to compare patients with LRBA-related ALPS and LRBA-related CVID, to describe their clinical and laboratory phenotypes, and to prepare an algorithm for their diagnosis and management. Methods: Fifteen LRBA-deficient patients were identified among 31 CVID and 14 possible ALPS patients with Western blotting (WB), primary immunodeficiency disease (PIDD) gene, next-generation panel screening (NGS), and whole exome sequencing (WES). Results: The median age on admission and age of diagnosis were 7 years (0.3–16.5) and 11 years (5–44), respectively. Splenomegaly was seen in 93.3% (14/15) of the patients on admission. Splenectomy was performed to 1/5. Recurrent upper respiratory tract infections (93.3% (14/15)), autoimmune cytopenia (80% (12/15)), chronic diarrhea (53.3% (8/15)), lower respiratory tract infections (53.3% (8/15)), lymphoma (26.6% (4/15)), Evans syndrome (26.6% (4/15)), and autoimmune thyroiditis (20% (3/15)) were common clinical findings and diseases. Lymphopenia (5/15), intermittant neutropenia (4/15), eosinophilia (4/15), and progressive hypogammaglobulinemia are recorded in given number of patients. Double negative T cells (TCRαβ+CD4−CD8−) were increased in 80% (8/10) of the patients. B cell percentage/numbers were low in 60% (9/15) of the patients on admission. Decreased switched memory B cells, decreased naive and recent thymic emigrant (RTE) Thelper (Th) cells, markedly increased effector memory/effector memory RA+ (TEMRA) Th were documented. Large PD1+ population, increased memory, and enlarged follicular helper T cell population in the CD4+ T cell compartment was seen in one of the patients. Most of the deleterious missense mutations were located in the DUF1088 and BEACH domains. Interestingly, one of the two siblings with the same homozygous LRBA defect did not have any clinical symptom. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) was performed to 7/15 (46.6%) of the patients. Transplanted patients are alive and well after a median of 2 years (1–3). In total, one patient died from sepsis during adulthood before HSCT. Conclusion: Patients with LRBA deficiency may initially be diagnosed as CVID or ALPS in the clinical practice. Progressive decrease in B cells as well as IgG in ALPS-like patients and addition of IBD symptoms in the follow-up should raise the suspicion for LRBA deficiency. Decreased switched memory B cells, decreased naive and recent thymic emigrant (RTE) Th cells, and markedly increased effector memory/effector memory RA+ Th cells (TEMRA Th) cells are important for the diagnosis of the patients in addition to clinical features. Analysis of protein by either WB or flow cytometry is required when the clinicians come across especially with missense LRBA variants of uncertain significance. High rate of malignancy shows the regulatory T cell’s important role of immune surveillance. HSCT is curative and succesful in patients with HLA-matched family donor