IMM: Primary Immunodeficiencies Flashcards

1
Q

Objectives:

  • Understand basic concepts of PID
  • PIDs affecting innate immune system
  • PIDs affecting acquired immune system
  • Initial concepts on basic tests to investigate immune function
A
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2
Q

What do immunodeficiencies have in common?

A
  • Heterogenous groups of disorders associated with defects in immune function
  • Infections that are:
    • unusually severe, recurrent or resistant
    • involving unusual organisms
  • Assocated with autoimmunity & malignancy
  • Delayed recognition common
  • Diagnosed at any age
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3
Q
  • Are primary immunodeficiencies very common? Answer = 1:____
  • Secondary immunodeficiencies represent __% of immunodeficiencies.
A
  • Primary immunodeficiency = 1 in 1200, but collectively make up significant chronic disease.
  • Secondary immunodeficiencies represent 90% of immunodeficiencies.
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4
Q

Explain the immune defect of different types of PID

A
  • Combined immunodeficiency
    • T cells and B cells
  • Combined immunodeficiency with associated/syndromic features
    • T cells and B cells with other features
  • Predominantly antibody deficiencies
    • B cells or plasma cells
  • Diseases of immune dysregulation
    • Defects in reglulation of immune system (Thymus gland where T cells normally go through)
    • Overactivated in response to certain stimuli
  • Congenital phagocyte defects
    • Phagocytes number or function (problems with neutrophils)
  • Defects of innate immunity
  • Autoinflammatory disorders
    • Cytokine overproduction = constant trigger of inflammation
  • Complement deficiencies
  • Phenocopies of PID
    • Arise from acuired mechanisms
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5
Q

What types of infections and organisms are associated with T and B cell deficiency?

A

Infections:

  • Systemic viral infections
  • Intracellular bacteria
  • Fungal infections

Organisms:

  • Bacteria: pyogenic bacteria
  • Viruses: all
  • Mycobacteria: non-TB including BCG
  • Fungi: candida, aspergillus
  • Protozoa: PJP, cryptosporidium
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6
Q

What types of infections and organisms are associted with antibody deficiency?

A

Infections:

  • Mucosal…
    • Upper and lower resp tract
    • GI tract infections

Organisms:

  • Bacteria: S. pneumonia, H. influenzae, M. cattarhalis, Campylobacter
  • Viruses: Enteroviruses
  • Protozoa: Giardia
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7
Q

What types of infections and organisms are associted with phagocyte defects?

A

Infections:

  • Respiratory tract
  • Cellulitis
  • Skin abscesses
  • Liver abscesses

Organisms:

  • Bacteria: S. aureus, P. aeruginosa
  • Mycobacteria: Non-TB including BCG
  • Fungi: Candida, Aspergillus
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8
Q

What types of infections and organisms are associated with complement deficiency?

A

Infections:

  • meningitis
  • systemic bacterial infections

Organisms:

  • Bacteria: Neisseria, Streptococci
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9
Q

Explain TLR pathways defects (innate immune system defect): MyD88/TRAK4

A
  • Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are Pattern Recognition Proteins (PRPs) and hence recogise PAMPs
  • All TLRs except TLR3 use MyD88 pathway
  • MyD88 associated with IRAK4
  • Genetic deficiencies with these leave susceptible to:
    • S. pneumoniae
    • S. aureus
    • P. aeuruginosa
  • Scusceptibility improves with age
  • Rx - antibiotic prophylaxis and Ig replacement maybe
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10
Q

Explain TLR pathways defects: TLR3-IFN

A
  • TLR-3 - interferon pathways critical in HSV recognition
  • Defects = subsceptible to HSV encephalitis
    • affects temporal lobe
    • seizures, abnormal behaviour
  • TLR3 pathway redudant for other CNS viruses
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11
Q

What is the name of defects of number of neutrophils? Explain the condition

A

Neutropenia.

Common, happens in lots of conditions.

E.g. Congenital: cyclical neutropenia

  • autosomal dominant
  • germline mutations in ELA2 (encodes neutrophil elastase)
  • abnormal ELA2 cells have shorter lifespan
  • Cycle every 21 days with lows near 0 and peaks at normal
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12
Q

What are neutrophil functional defects?

A
  • defects in neutrophil homing
  • adhesion molecule defects
  • defets in phagocytosis
  • defects in killing
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13
Q

What is a condition featuring defects in neutrophil killing?

A
  • Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD)
    • Normally, phagocytosis and then release peroxides/catalases
    • in CGD - mutations in NADPH oxidase
    • neutrophils can’t do oxidative burst
    • can’t kill microbes they’ve taken up
    • results: recurrent pathogens normally killed
      • S. aureus
      • Enteric bacteria
      • Aspergillus
      • Fungii
    • failure to clear infection
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14
Q

Describe complement deficiency as a Primary Immunodeficiency Disorder

A
  • Can occur at any of the pathways (Neisseria)
  • Can occur C3b deposition (leads to pyogenic bacteria)
  • Membrane-attack complex
    • Deficiency leads to Neisseria spp

Have a particular suscpetibility to Neisseria infections

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15
Q

What is the name of the PID resulting in defective B cell development (no B cells)?

A

X-linked agammaglobulinaemia (XLA)

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16
Q

What is Common Variable Immunodeficiency (a disorder of B cell differentiation and switching)?

A
  • Hotchpotch of disorders, similar presentation
  • Most frequent clinically symptomatic PID
  • Low imunoglobulins of at ealst 2 isotypes (igG and either IgA or IgM)
  • Associated with poor specific antibody responses
  • Disease onset often occurs in adulthood (suddenly drop off in immune function)
17
Q

What are the most common clinical CVID presentations?

A
  • Infections (90%)
    • sinopylmonary
    • ear
    • GI
  • GI (50%)
    • chronic diarrhoea
    • malabsoprtion
  • Lymphadenopathy or splenomegaly (50%)
  • Autoimmunity (30%)
  • Granulomas (10-30%)
    • lungs
    • liver
    • other
  • Malignancy
    • increased incidence of lymphoma and stomach cancers (may be H. pylori??)
18
Q

What combined immunodeficiency did David Vetter have?

A

X-linked Severe Combined ImmunoDeficiencs (SCID)

Involves:

  • defect in common gamma chain of IL2 receptor gene
  • these are important for cytokine receptors for large numbers of interleukins
  • absence of T cells and NK cells
  • Defective B cells
19
Q

What are the clinical presentations and treatment of SCID?

A

Presentation:

  • Prefer before age 3 months
  • Fatal b 2 years when untreated
  • Severe infections (common pathogens maybe fatal)
  • Classic symptoms:
    • recurrent infections
    • cnadidiasis
    • chronic diarrhoea

Treatment:

  • Aggressive treatment of infections
  • Protective isolation
  • replacement immunoglobulin (mimic maternal protection)
  • No live vaccines or breastfeeding
  • Haemopoietic stem cell transplant = current treatment of choid
20
Q

What investigations would do if suspect immunodeficiency disorder?

A

The basics:

  • FBC (neutrophils + lymphocytes)
  • Immunoglobulin levels (IgG, IgA, IgM)
  • Complement level/function
  • Lymphocyte subsets (T and B cell numbers)

Specific function tests (enlist specialist help)

  • Neutrophil function tests
  • Lymphocyte proliferation tests
  • Functional antibody tests
  • Specialised complement pathway tests
  • Genetic analysis to confirm where possible
21
Q

What tool is a newborn screening test for different genetic disorders?

A

Guthrie card.

22
Q

Inherited primary ID PIDs leads to defects of either or both of the following: the ____ or the ____ of the immune system.

A

Inherited primary ID PIDs leads to defects of either or both of the following: the development or the function of the immune system.

23
Q

Infections in PID can be broken down like so:

  • T/B cell deficiency.
  • Antibody deficiency.
  • Phagocytic defects.
  • Complement deficiency.

Give examples of the infections that result, and the possible causative agents.

A
24
Q
A