Impaired cellular and humoral immunity is a feature of Diamond-Blackfan anaemia; experience of 107 unselected cases in the United Kingdom.

Iskander D., Roberts I., Rees C., Szydlo R., Alikian M., Neale M., Harrington Y., Kelleher P., Karadimitris A., de la Fuente J.

Diamond-Blackfan anaemia (DBA) is a rare bone marrow failure syndrome characterised by anaemia, congenital anomalies and cancer predisposition. Although infections are the second leading cause of mortality in non-transplanted patients, immune function is largely unexplored. We identified quantitative deficits in serum immunoglobulins and/or circulating T, natural killer and B lymphocytes in 59 of 107 unselected patients (55·1%) attending our centre over a 7-year period. Immune abnormalities were independent of ribosomal protein genotype and arose in both steroid-treated and steroid-untreated patients. In summary, these data highlight the high prevalence and spectrum of infections and immune defects in DBA.

DOI

10.1111/bjh.15915

Type

Journal

Br J Haematol

Publication Date

07/2019

Volume

186

Pages

321 - 326

Keywords

Diamond-Blackfan, bone marrow failure, corticosteroids, immunodeficiency, red blood cell disorders, Adolescent, Anemia, Diamond-Blackfan, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Genotype, Humans, Immunity, Cellular, Immunity, Humoral, Infant, Male, Ribosomal Proteins, United Kingdom

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