A Non-targeted Proteomics Newborn Screening Platform for Inborn Errors of Immunity.

Purpose: Newborn screening using dried blood spot (DBS) samples for the targeted measurement of metabolites and nucleic acids has made a substantial contribution to public healthcare by facilitating the detection of neonates with genetic disorders. Here, we investigated the applicability of non-targeted quantitative proteomics analysis to newborn screening for inborn errors of immunity (IEIs).

Methods: DBS samples from 40 healthy newborns and eight healthy adults were subjected to non-targeted proteomics analysis using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry after removal of the hydrophilic fraction.

Efficacy of steroid therapy for improving native liver survival after pediatric acute liver failure with immune activation.

Aim: Recent evidence suggests that acute liver failure (ALF) in some patients may reflect a dysregulated immune response, and that corticosteroids improve survival of the native liver in ALF patients with high serum alanine aminotransferase levels, which are an indication of liver inflammation. However, it is unclear whether steroids are effective for pediatric acute liver failure (PALF). The aim of this retrospective case-control study is to examine whether steroid therapy for PALF accompanied by immune activation improves the survival of native liver and to identify factors that predict responses to steroid treatment.

Clinical and neuroimaging review of monogenic cerebral small vessel disease from the prenatal to adolescent developmental stage.

Cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) refers to a group of pathological processes with various etiologies affecting the small vessels of the brain. Most cases are sporadic, with age-related and hypertension-related sSVD and cerebral amyloid angiopathy being the most prevalent forms. Monogenic cSVD accounts for up to 5% of causes of stroke.

A complementary approach for genetic diagnosis of inborn errors of immunity using proteogenomic analysis.

Advances in next-generation sequencing technology have identified many genes responsible for inborn errors of immunity (IEI). However, there is still room for improvement in the efficiency of genetic diagnosis. Recently, RNA sequencing and proteomics using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) have gained attention, but only some studies have integrated these analyses in IEI.

Assessment of type I interferon signatures in undifferentiated inflammatory diseases: A Japanese multicenter experience.

Purpose: Upregulation of type I interferon (IFN) signaling has been increasingly detected in inflammatory diseases. Recently, upregulation of the IFN signature has been suggested as a potential biomarker of IFN-driven inflammatory diseases. Yet, it remains unclear to what extent type I IFN is involved in the pathogenesis of undifferentiated inflammatory diseases.

Genotypes and transmission routes of noroviruses causing sporadic acute gastroenteritis among adults and children, Japan, 2015-2019.

Noroviruses (NoVs) are major causes of acute viral gastroenteritis at all ages worldwide. The molecular epidemiology of sporadic cases remains poorly understood, especially in adults. Additionally, no studies have analyzed the transmission route in sporadic acute gastroenteritis.

Trapping of CDC42 C-terminal variants in the Golgi drives pyrin inflammasome hyperactivation.

Mutations in the C-terminal region of the CDC42 gene cause severe neonatal-onset autoinflammation. Effectiveness of IL-1β-blocking therapy indicates that the pathology involves abnormal inflammasome activation; however, the mechanism underlying autoinflammation remains to be elucidated. Using induced-pluripotent stem cells established from patients carrying CDC42R186C, we found that patient-derived cells secreted larger amounts of IL-1β in response to pyrin-activating stimuli.

Case Report: A Case of Epstein-Barr Virus-Associated Acute Liver Failure Requiring Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation After Emergent Liver Transplantation.

Hepatic manifestations of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection are relatively common, mild, and self-limiting. Although fulminant hepatic failure has been reported in a few cases, the contributing factors are unclear. This report discusses a pediatric case of EBV-associated acute liver failure that required urgent liver transplantation; however, liver damage continued to progress post-liver replacement.

Enzyme activity in dried blood spot as a diagnostic tool for adenosine deaminase 2 deficiency.

Background: Deficiency of adenosine deaminase 2 (DADA2) is an autoinflammatory disease caused by mutations in the adenosine deaminase 2 (ADA2) gene. Loss of functional ADA2 activity results in vasculitis syndrome, immunodeficiency, and hematopoietic disorders. Early diagnosis is required for effective treatment.

Molecular characterization of the first human G15 rotavirus strain of zoonotic origin from the bovine species.

Group A rotaviruses (RVAs) infect a wide variety of mammalian and avian species. Animals act as a potential reservoir to RVA human infections by direct virion transmission or by contributing genes to reassortants. Here, we report the molecular characterization of a rare human RVA strain Ni17-46 with a genotype G15P[14], isolated in Japan in 2017 during rotavirus surveillance in a paediatric outpatient clinic.

Rapid Flow Cytometry-Based Assay for the Functional Classification of MEFV Variants.

Purpose: Pathogenic MEFV variants cause pyrin-associated autoinflammatory diseases (PAADs), which include familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), FMF-like disease, and pyrin-associated autoinflammation with neutrophilic dermatosis (PAAND). The diagnosis of PAADs is established by clinical phenotypic and genetic analyses. However, the pathogenicity of most MEFV variants remains controversial, as they have not been functionally evaluated.

Detailed analysis of Japanese patients with adenosine deaminase 2 deficiency reveals characteristic elevation of type II interferon signature and STAT1 hyperactivation.

Background: Deficiency of adenosine deaminase 2 (DADA2) is an autosomal recessive inflammatory disease caused by loss-of-function mutations in both alleles of the ADA2 gene. Most patients with DADA2 exhibit systemic vasculopathy consistent with polyarteritis nodosa, but large phenotypic variability has been reported, and the pathogenesis of DADA2 remains unclear.

Objectives: This study sought to assess the clinical and genetic characteristics of Japanese patients with DADA2 and to gain insight into the pathogenesis of DADA2 by multi-omics analysis.

Rescue of recurrent deep intronic mutation underlying cell type-dependent quantitative NEMO deficiency.

X-linked dominant incontinentia pigmenti (IP) and X-linked recessive anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia with immunodeficiency (EDA-ID) are caused by loss-of-function and hypomorphic IKBKG (also known as NEMO) mutations, respectively. We describe a European mother with mild IP and a Japanese mother without IP, whose 3 boys with EDA-ID died from ID. We identify the same private variant in an intron of IKBKG, IVS4+866 C>T, which was inherited from and occurred de novo in the European mother and Japanese mother, respectively.

[A case of oligodendroglioma with temporal lobe epilepsy initially suspected as having paroxymal tachycardia].

A 4-year-old girl had repetitive attacks of chest pain, palpitation and loss of consciousness, which lasted for a few minutes and occurred several times a day. Interictal and ictal EEGs revealed that these episodes were complex partial seizures with autonomic symptoms originating from the right antero-temporal area. Brain MRI depicted a tumor in the right temporal lobe, the suspected etiology of the seizures.

Gelastic seizure with hypothalamic hamartoma: proton magnetic resonance spectrometry and ictal electroencephalographic findings in a 4-year-old girl.

Gelastic seizure is a rare symptom often associated with hypothalamic hamartoma. We present here a 4-year-old girl with gelastic epilepsy caused by hypothalamic hamartoma and report the magnetic resonance spectrometry and electroencephalographic (EEG) findings. At the age of 2 1/2 years, she developed brief, repetitive laughing attacks or mixed attacks with laughing and crying, which were refractory to carbamazepine.

"Obtundation status (Dravet)" caused by complex partial status epilepticus in a patient with severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy.

Purpose: We report a 1-year 7-month-old boy with severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy (SME) who exhibited complex partial status epilepticus (CPSE), which was confirmed by ictal video-EEG analysis. This boy first had a hemiconvulsion in a hot bath at age 3 months. Thereafter, he exhibited both partial and generalized seizures that were extremely intractable.