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Purpose: Combined immunodeficiency (CID), due to mutations in TFRC gene that encodes the transferrin receptors (TfR1), is a rare monogenic disorder. In this study, we further characterize the clinical and immunological phenotypes in a cohort of eight patients., Methods: A retrospective review of clinical and immunological features of patients diagnosed with a TFRC gene mutation between 2015 and 2019 in three tertiary centers., Results: Eight patients from six unrelated families were enrolled. The patients had a median age of 7 years (4-32 years). All patients presented with recurrent sinopulmonary infections, chronic diarrhea, and failure to thrive in early life. Less common features were skin abscesses, conjunctivitis, global developmental delay, optic nerve atrophy, vitiligo, multinodular goiter, and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis-like symptoms. All patients had intermittent neutropenia and 87% of the patients had recurrent thrombocytopenia. Anemia was found in 62%. All patients had hypogammaglobinemia and one had a persistent high IgM level. All patients had impaired function of T cells. The same homozygous missense mutation c.58T>C:p.Y20H, in the TFRC gene, was detected in all patients. Stem cell transplantation from matched donors was successful in two patients. Five patients did not receive stem cell transplantation, and they are on prophylactic treatment. One patient died due to severe sepsis and neurological complications., Conclusion: This report provides a large cohort with a long follow up of patients with this disease. Our cohort showed variable disease severity.

Mutations in DOCK8 result in autosomal recessive Hyper-IgE syndrome with combined immunodeficiency (CID). However, the natural course of disease, long-term prognosis, and optimal therapeutic management have not yet been clearly defined. In an international retrospective survey of patients with DOCK8 mutations, focused on clinical presentation and therapeutic measures, a total of 136 patients with a median follow-up of 11.3 years (1.3-47.7) spanning 1693 patient years, were enrolled. Eczema, recurrent respiratory tract infections, allergies, abscesses, viral infections and mucocutaneous candidiasis were the most frequent clinical manifestations. Overall survival probability in this cohort [censored for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT)] was 87 % at 10, 47 % at 20, and 33 % at 30 years of age, respectively. Event free survival was 44, 18 and 4 % at the same time points if events were defined as death, life-threatening infections, malignancy or cerebral complications such as CNS vasculitis or stroke. Malignancy was diagnosed in 23/136 (17 %) patients (11 hematological and 9 epithelial cancers, 5 other malignancies) at a median age of 12 years. Eight of these patients died from cancer. Severe, life-threatening infections were observed in 79/136 (58 %); severe non-infectious cerebral events occurred in 14/136 (10 %). Therapeutic measures included antiviral and antibacterial prophylaxis, immunoglobulin replacement and HSCT. This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of the clinical phenotype of DOCK8 deficiency in the largest cohort reported so far and demonstrates the severity of the disease with relatively poor prognosis. Early HSCT should be strongly considered as a potential curative measure.

Purpose: Autosomal recessive hyper-IgE syndrome is a rare combined immunodeficiency characterized by susceptibility to viral infections, atopic eczema, high serum IgE and defective T cell activation. The genetic etiologies are diverse. Null mutations in DOCK8 and TYK2 are responsible for many cases. This study aims to provide a detailed clinical and immunological characterization of the disease and explore the underlying genetic defects among a large series of patients followed by a single center. The available data might improve our understanding of the disease pathogenesis and prognosis., Methods: Clinical data of twenty-five patients diagnosed with AR-HIES were collected. Seventeen patients screened for STAT3, TYK2 and DOCK8 mutations., Results: Sinopulmonary infections, dermatitis, hepatic disorders, cutaneous and systemic bacterial, fungal and viral infections were the most common clinical features. The rate of hepatic disorders and systemic infections were high. Twelve patients died with a median age of 10 years. CMV infection was the only statistically significant predicting factor for poor prognosis (early death). Three novel DOCK8 mutations and two large deletions were found in thirteen patients. No mutations found in STAT3 or TYK2 genes., Conclusion: Autosomal recessive hyper-IgE syndrome is a combined immunodeficiency disease characterized by high morbidity and mortality rate. The different genetic background and environmental factors may explain the more severe phenotypes seen in our series. DOCK8 defect is the most common identified genetic cause. Patients with no identified genetic etiology are likely to carry mutations in the regulatory elements of genes tested or in novel genes that are yet to be discovered.