Publications by authors named "Immacolata Brigida"

Article Synopsis
  • DADA2 is a rare genetic disorder that affects both immune function and blood health, leading to symptoms like vasculitis and increased risk of strokes, as seen in two identical twin sisters studied in this report.
  • Genetic testing revealed both twins lacked adenosine deaminase 2 activity due to mutations inherited from each parent, contributing to their severe health issues.
  • The twins' disease progression varied significantly; one sister required urgent stem cell transplantation due to severe neutropenia, while the other was managed with medication, illustrating the importance of early diagnosis and tailored treatment plans for DADA2.
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Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most frequent primary antibody deficiency whereby follicular helper T (Tfh) cells fail to establish productive responses with B cells in germinal centers. Here, we analyzed the frequency, phenotype, transcriptome, and function of circulating Tfh (cTfh) cells in CVID patients displaying autoimmunity as an additional phenotype. A group of patients showed a high frequency of cTfh1 cells and a prominent expression of PD-1 and ICOS as well as a cTfh mRNA signature consistent with highly activated, but exhausted, senescent, and apoptotic cells.

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Adenosine deaminase 2 deficiency (DADA2) is a rare inherited disorder that is caused by autosomal recessive mutations in the ADA2 gene. Clinical manifestations include early-onset lacunar strokes, vasculitis/vasculopathy, systemic inflammation, immunodeficiency, and hematologic defects. Anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy reduces strokes and systemic inflammation.

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Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is characterized by immune dysregulation due to inadequate restraint of overactivated immune cells and is associated with a variable clinical spectrum having overlap with more common pathophysiologies. HLH is difficult to diagnose and can be part of inflammatory syndromes. Here, we identify a novel hematological/autoinflammatory condition (NOCARH syndrome) in four unrelated patients with superimposable features, including neonatal-onset cytopenia with dyshematopoiesis, autoinflammation, rash, and HLH.

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Primary Immunodeficiencies (PIDs) are a heterogeneous group of genetic immune disorders. While some PIDs can manifest with more than one phenotype, signs, and symptoms of various PIDs overlap considerably. Recently, novel defects in immune-related genes and additional variants in previously reported genes responsible for PIDs have been successfully identified by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), allowing the recognition of a broad spectrum of disorders.

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Background: Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome is a rare, life-threatening, X-linked primary immunodeficiency characterised by microthrombocytopenia, infections, eczema, autoimmunity, and malignant disease. Lentiviral vector-mediated haemopoietic stem/progenitor cell (HSPC) gene therapy is a potentially curative treatment that represents an alternative to allogeneic HSPC transplantation. Here, we report safety and efficacy data from an interim analysis of patients with severe Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome who received lentiviral vector-derived gene therapy.

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We described for the first time a female patient with the simultaneous presence of two homozygous mutations in and genes presenting with pyogenic bacterial infections, elevated IgE, and persistent EBV viremia. In addition to defective TLR/IL1R-signaling, we described novel functional alterations into the myeloid compartment. In particular, we demonstrated a defective production of reactive oxygen species exclusively in monocytes upon stimulation, the inability of immature mono-derived DCs (iDCs) to differentiate into mature DCs (mDCs) and the incapacity of mono-derived macrophages (MDMs) to resolve BCG infection .

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Article Synopsis
  • ADA2 deficiency is an auto-inflammatory disease caused by mutations in a specific gene, leading to symptoms such as vasculopathy, recurrent fevers, and immunodeficiency.
  • Effective treatments are limited; steroids and anti-cytokine monoclonal antibodies have shown some success, while hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can be curative if a suitable donor is found.
  • A case study of a 4-year-old girl highlights challenges in diagnosing ADA2 deficiency, leading to HSCT as the successful treatment after previous unsuccessful therapies, emphasizing the importance of early diagnosis and molecular analysis before transplant.
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ARPC1B is a key factor for the assembly and maintenance of the ARP2/3 complex that is involved in actin branching from an existing filament. Germline biallelic mutations in have been recently described in 6 patients with clinical features of combined immunodeficiency (CID), whose neutrophils and platelets but not T lymphocytes were studied. We hypothesized that ARPC1B deficiency may also lead to cytoskeleton and functional defects in T cells.

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Background: Jagunal homolog 1 (JAGN1) gene was identified as a novel responsible for severe congenital neutropenia. The protein encoded by this gene is required for neutrophil differentiation, survival and function in microbial activity. JAGN1-deficient human neutrophils are characterized by alterations in trafficking within the endoplasmic reticulum and golgi compartments because of ultrastructural defects in endoplasmic reticulum and susceptibility to apoptosis.

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Adenosine deaminase-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency disease (ADA-SCID) is a primary immune deficiency characterized by mutations in the ADA gene resulting in accumulation of toxic compounds affecting multiple districts. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from a matched donor and hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy are the preferred options for definitive treatment. Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is used to manage the disease in the short term, while a decreased efficacy is reported in the medium-long term.

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Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) represent a key component of bone marrow (BM) microenvironment and display immune-regulatory properties. We performed a detailed analysis of biological/functional properties of BM-MSCs derived from 33 pediatric patients affected by primary immune-deficiencies (PID-MSCs): 7 Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD), 15 Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WAS), 11 Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID). Results were compared with MSCs from 15 age-matched pediatric healthy-donors (HD-MSCs).

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Adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency is a rare, autosomal-recessive systemic metabolic disease characterized by severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). The treatment of choice for ADA-deficient SCID (ADA-SCID) is hematopoietic stem cell transplant from an HLA-matched sibling donor, although <25% of patients have such a donor available. Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) partially and temporarily relieves immunodeficiency.

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Activated PI3-kinase delta syndrome (APDS) was recently reported as a novel primary immunodeficiency caused by heterozygous gain-of-function mutations in PIK3CD gene. Here we describe immunological studies in a 19year old APDS patient for whom genetic diagnosis was discovered by Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) analysis. In addition to the progressive lymphopenia and defective antibody production we showed that the ability of the patient's B cells to differentiate in vitro is severely reduced.

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Background: Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is a severe X-linked immunodeficiency characterized by microthrombocytopenia, eczema, recurrent infections, and susceptibility to autoimmunity and lymphomas. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the treatment of choice; however, administration of WAS gene-corrected autologous hematopoietic stem cells has been demonstrated as a feasible alternative therapeutic approach.

Objective: Because B-cell homeostasis is perturbed in patients with WAS and restoration of immune competence is one of the main therapeutic goals, we have evaluated reconstitution of the B-cell compartment in 4 patients who received autologous hematopoietic stem cells transduced with lentiviral vector after a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen combined with anti-CD20 administration.

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Background: Adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency causes severe cellular and humoral immune defects and dysregulation because of metabolic toxicity. Alterations in B-cell development and function have been poorly studied. Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy (GT) are therapeutic options for patients lacking a suitable bone marrow (BM) transplant donor.

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Cell-surface CD25 expression is critical for maintaining immune function and homeostasis. As in few reported cases, CD25 deficiency manifests with severe autoimmune enteritis and viral infections. To dissect the underlying immunological mechanisms driving these symptoms, we analyzed the regulatory and effector T cell functions in a CD25 deficient patient harboring a novel IL2RA mutation.

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Genetic defects in the adenosine deaminase (ADA) gene are among the most common causes for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). ADA-SCID patients suffer from lymphopenia, severely impaired cellular and humoral immunity, failure to thrive, and recurrent infections. Currently available therapeutic options for this otherwise fatal disorder include bone marrow transplantation (BMT), enzyme replacement therapy with bovine ADA (PEG-ADA), or hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy (HSC-GT).

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Adenosine deaminase (ADA) gene defects are among the most common causes of SCID. Restoration of purine metabolism and immune functions can be achieved by enzyme replacement therapy, or more effectively by bone marrow transplant or HSC gene therapy (HSC-GT). However, autoimmune complications and autoantibody production, including anti-nuclear antibodies (ANAs), frequently occur in ADA-SCID patients after treatment.

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Phytohemagglutin-stimulated child and adult leukocytes equally supported CCR5-dependent (R5) and CXCR4-dependent (X4) HIV-1 replication. In contrast, when phytohemagglutin-stimulated leukocytes from either healthy or congenitally immunodeficient children were cultured on feeder cells, they well supported R5, but not X4 HIV-1 replication, whereas both viruses equally spread in adult cells maintained in similar conditions. Both child and adult cells showed similar levels of proliferation and surface expression of CD4, CCR5, CXCR4, CD25, CD69, and HLA-DR.

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