Pitfalls of immunotherapy: lessons from a patient with CTLA-4 haploinsufficiency
Open Access
- 22 October 2018
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology
- Vol. 14 (1), 65
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s13223-018-0272-7
Abstract
Daclizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks CD25, the high affinity alpha subunit of the interleukin-2 receptor. Daclizumab therapy targets T regulatory cell and activated effector T cell proliferation to suppress autoimmune disease activity, in inflammatory conditions like relapsing and remitting multiple sclerosis. Here, we present the first report of agranulocytosis with daclizumab therapy in a patient with relapsing and remitting multiple sclerosis. Our patient was a 24-year-old Australian female with a clinical history of atopy, lymphocytic enteritis complicated by B12 deficiency, relapsing and remitting multiple sclerosis, recurrent lower respiratory tract infections, vulval/cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and melanoma. She was commenced on daclizumab therapy after failing several lines of treatment for relapsing and remitting multiple sclerosis. During a hospital admission for lymphocytic enteritis, she was incidentally diagnosed with combined immunodeficiency with hypogammaglobulinaemia and declined proposed regular intravenous immunoglobulin infusions. Following six months of daclizumab therapy, our patient presented to hospital with febrile neutropenia. No clear infective cause was found, despite numerous investigations. However, bone marrow biopsy revealed agranulocytosis with an apparent maturation block at the myeloblasts stage. Neustrophil recovery occurred following cessation of daclizumab and the initiation of T cell immunosuppressive agents including systemic corticosteroids and methotrexate. The patient was further investigated for combined immunodeficiency and whole exome sequencing revealed a novel heterozygous missense variant in cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4), leading to a diagnosis of CTLA-4 haploinsufficiency with autoimmune infiltration (CHAI). This case demonstrates that autoimmune disease may be the presenting feature of primary immunodeficiency and should be appropriately investigated prior to the commencement of immunotherapy. Genetic clarification of underlying primary immunodeficiency may provide critical clinical information that alters the safety of the proposed treatment strategy.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Health and Medical Research Council (1075151, 1075666, 1127198)
- Independent Research Institutes Infrastructure Support Scheme Grant (361646)
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institution of Medical Research
- Bloody Long Way
- Victorian State Government Operational Infrastructure Scheme
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