DPP9 deficiency: An inflammasomopathy that can be rescued by lowering NLRP1/IL-1 signaling

Dipeptidyl peptidase 9 (DPP9) is a direct inhibitor of NLRP1, but how it affects inflammasome regulation in vivo is not yet established. Here, we report three families with immune-associated defects, poor growth, pancytopenia, and skin pigmentation abnormalities that segregate with biallelicDPP9rare variants. Using patient-derived primary cells and biochemical assays, these variants were shown to behave as hypomorphic or knockout alleles that failed to repress NLRP1. The removal of a single copy ofNlrp1a/b/c,Asc,Gsdmd, orIl-1r, but notIl-18, was sufficient to rescue the lethality ofDpp9mutant neonates in mice. Similarly,dpp9deficiency was partially rescued by the inactivation ofasc, an obligate downstream adapter of the NLRP1 inflammasome, in zebrafish. These experiments suggest that the deleterious consequences of DPP9 deficiency were mostly driven by the aberrant activation of the canonical NLRP1 inflammasome and IL-1β signaling. Collectively, our results delineate a Mendelian disorder of DPP9 deficiency driven by increased NLRP1 activity as demonstrated in patient cells and in two animal models of the disease.