Complement C3dg-mediated erythrophagocytosis: Implications for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria

The clinical management of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare but life-threatening hematologic disease, has fundamentally improved with the introduction of a therapeutic that prevents complement-mediated intravascular hemolysis. However, a considerable fraction of PNH patients show insufficient treatment response and remain transfusion dependent. Because the current treatment only prevents C5-induced lysis but not upstream C3 activation, it has been speculated that ongoing opsonization with C3 fragments leads to recognition and phagocytosis of PNH erythrocytes by immune cells. Here, for the first time, we provide experimental evidence for such extravascular hemolysis and demonstrate that PNH erythrocytes from anti–C5-treated patients are phagocytosed by activated monocytes in vitro. Importantly, we show that this uptake can be mediated by the end-stage opsonin C3dg, which is not traditionally considered a phagocytic marker, via interaction with complement receptor 3 (CR3). Interaction studies confirmed that C3dg itself can act as a ligand for the binding domain of CR3. The degree of C3dg-mediated erythrophagocytosis in samples from different PNH patients correlated well with the individual level of C3dg opsonization. This finding may guide future treatment options for PNH but also has potential implications for the description and management of other complement-mediated diseases

Twenty years of the Italian Fanconi Anemia Registry: where we stand and what remains to be learned

The natural history of Fanconi anemia remains hard to establish because of its rarity and its heterogeneous clinical presentation; since 1994, the Italian Fanconi Anemia Registry has collected clinical, epidemiological and genetic data of Italian Fanconi Anemia patients. This registry includes 180 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of Fanconi anemia who have either been enrolled prospectively, at diagnosis, or later on. After enrollment, follow-up data were periodically collected to assess the clinical course, possible complications and long-term survival; the median follow up was 15.6 years. The main goal of the study was to describe the natural history of Fanconi anemia, focusing on the following variables: family history, disease presentation, development of hematological manifestations, development of malignancies, occurrence of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and survival. Typical morphological and/or hematological abnormalities and/or growth retardation were the most common manifestations at diagnosis; the majority of patients (77%) exhibited hematological abnormalities at the initial presentation, and almost all (96%) eventually developed hematological manifestations. More than half of the patients (57%) underwent a bone-marrow transplant. The occurrence of cancer was quite rare at diagnosis, whereas the cumulative incidence of malignancies at 10, 20 and 30 years was 5%, 8% and 22%, respectively, for hematological cancers and 1%, 15% and 32%, respectively, for solid tumors. Overall survival at 10, 20 and 30 years were 88%, 56% and 37%, respectively; the main causes of death were cancer, complications of the hematological presentation and complications of transplantation. These data clearly confirm the detrimental outcome of Fanconi anemia, with no major improvement in the past decades

Narrative Based Medicine as a tool for needs assessment of patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Background and aim: In the last years we have seen an ever increasing number of patients with haematologic disorders who need hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The whole sector of HSCT results, infact to be in a continous scientific and technological clinical progress, offering a very advanced care. Despite this, some aspects are underconsidered, some of which could be fundamental to determine the success of the care pathway, such as the experience of the illness by the patient. Using a Narrative Based Medicine approach we wanted to investigate clinical, psychosocial and organizational aspects of the patient\u2019s journey whilst undergoing HSCT. Method: Various narrative interviews were conducted using non-structured approach. Results were analysed by thematic contents. Results: Psycological dimension is the most compromised: above all emerged sentiments of oppression linked to the isolation period in the Low Bacterial Load (LBL) room. To note are also the different dynamics with which the patients perceive the organisation and hospital structures, and how much these factors can influence their care experience. Conclusions: Results suggest the need in clinical practice of an integration between qualitative and clinical approach, so as to permit the psychosocial and relational necessities to emerge, often unexpressed by patients undergoing HSCT

Steroid treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease grade I: A randomized trial

Patients with acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) grade I were randomized to an observation arm (n=85) or to a treatment arm (n=86) consisting of 6-methylprednisolone 1 mg/kg/day, after stratification for age and donor type. The primary end point was development of grade II-IV GvHD. The cumulative incidence of grade II-IV GvHD was 50% in the observation arm and 33% in the treatment arm (P=0.005). However, grade III-IV GvHD was comparable (13% vs. 10%, respectively; P=0.6), and this was true for sibling and alternative donor transplants. Moderate/severe chronic GvHD was also comparable (17% vs. 9%). In multivariate analysis, an early interval between transplant and randomization

Eculizumab treatment: stochastic occurrence of C3 binding to individual PNH erythrocytes

C5 blockade by eculizumab prevents complement-mediated intravascular hemolysis in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). However, C3-bound PNH red blood cells (RBCs), arising in almost all treated patients, may undergo extravascular hemolysis reducing clinical benefits. Despite the uniform deficiency of CD55 and of CD59, there are always two distinct populations of PNH RBCs, with (C3+) and without (C3-) C3 binding