Search

Background: Studies have addressed the immunomodulatory effects of helminths and their protective effects upon asthma. However, anti-Ascaris IgE has been reported to be associated with an increased risk of asthma symptoms. We examined the association between serum levels of anti-Ascaris IgE and bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) in children living in rural Bangladesh. Methods: Serum anti-Ascaris IgE level was measured and the BHR test done in 158 children aged 9 years selected randomly from a general population of 1705 in the Matlab Health and Demographic Surveillance Area of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh. We investigated wheezing symptoms using a questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. BHR tests were successfully done on 152 children (108 ‘current wheezers’; 44 ‘never-wheezers’). We examined the association between anti-Ascaris IgE level and wheezing and BHR using multiple logistic regression analyses. Results: Of 108 current-wheezers, 59 were BHR-positive; of 44 never-wheezers, 32 were BHR-negative. Mean anti-Ascaris IgE levels were significantly higher (12.51 UA/ml; 95% confidence interval (CI), 9.21–17.00) in children with current wheezing with BHR-positive than in those of never-wheezers with BHR-negative (3.89; 2.65–5.70; t test, p

Kitamura et al. identify NLRC4 as causing familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome using whole exome sequencing on a family with multiple affected family members. They identify a mutation in the NOD domain and show that the mutant protein increases Nlrc4 oligomerization and is associated with increased IL-1β. Transgenic mice with the same NLRC4 mutation are shown to develop a similar FCAS-like syndrome., Autoinflammatory syndromes cause sterile inflammation in the absence of any signs of autoimmune responses. Familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome (FCAS) is characterized by intermittent episodes of rash, arthralgia, and fever after exposure to cold stimuli. We have identified a missense mutation in the NLRC4 gene in patients with FCAS. NLRC4 has been known as a crucial sensor for several Gram-negative intracellular bacteria. The mutation in NLRC4 in FCAS patients promoted the formation of NLRC4-containing inflammasomes that cleave procaspase-1 and increase production of IL-1β. Transgenic mice that expressed mutant Nlrc4 under the invariant chain promoter developed dermatitis and arthritis. Inflammation within tissues depended on IL-1β–mediated production of IL-17A from neutrophils but not from T cells. Our findings reveal a previously unrecognized link between NLRC4 and a hereditary autoinflammatory disease and highlight the importance of NLRC4 not only in the innate immune response to bacterial infections but also in the genesis of inflammatory diseases.

Introduction Use of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) is the mainstream maintenance therapy for paediatric asthma. Several forms of ICS are available, but the relative effectiveness among ICS has not been well investigated in published, randomised, controlled trials. The paucity of direct comparisons between ICS may have resulted in insufficient estimation in former systematic reviews/meta-analyses. To supplement the information on the comparative effectiveness of ICS for paediatric asthma, we plan to conduct a network meta-analysis that will enable summary of direct and indirect evidence. Methods and analysis We will retrieve randomised, controlled trials that examined the effectiveness of ICS for paediatric asthma from the PubMed and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. After one author scans the title and abstract for eligible studies, two authors will independently review study data and assess the quality of the study. Studies of children (≤18 years old) with chronic asthma or recurrent wheezing episodes will be included if they used ICS for ≥4 weeks. We will define a priori core outcomes and supplemental outcomes of paediatric asthma, including exacerbation, healthcare use and pulmonary function. Studies reporting a minimum of one core outcome will be entered into the systematic review. After the systematic review is performed, extracted data of relevant studies will be synthesised in the Bayesian framework using a random-effects model. Ethics and dissemination The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. Protocol registration number UMIN (000016724) and PROSPERO (CRD42015025889).

Infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with MLL gene rearrangements is characterized by early pre-B phenotype (CD10 − /CD19 + ) and poor treatment outcome. The t(4;11), creating MLL-AF4 chimeric transcripts, is the predominant 11q23 chromosome translocation in infant ALL and is associated with extremely poor prognosis as compared with other 11q23 translocations. We analyzed an infant early preB ALL with ins(5;11)(q31;q13q23) and identified the AF5q31 gene on chromosome 5q31 as a fusion partner of the MLL gene. The AF5q31 gene, which encoded a protein of 1,163 aa, was located in the vicinity of the cytokine cluster region of chromosome 5q31 and contained at least 16 exons. The AF5q31 gene was expressed in fetal heart, lung, and brain at relatively high levels and fetal liver at a low level, but the expression in these tissues decreased in adults. The AF5q31 protein was homologous to AF4-related proteins, including AF4, LAF4, and FMR2. The AF5q31 and AF4 proteins had three homologous regions, including the transactivation domain of AF4, and the breakpoint of AF5q31 was located within the region homologous to the transactivation domain of AF4. Furthermore, the clinical features of this patient with the MLL-AF5q31 fusion transcript, characterized by the early pre-B phenotype (CD10 − /CD19 + ) and poor outcome, were similar to those of patients having MLL-AF4 chimeric transcripts. These findings suggest that AF5q31 and AF4 might define a new family particularly involved in the pathogenesis of 11q23-associated-ALL.

We report a case of a 31-year-old woman with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) complicated with intractable diarrhea and the functional disorder of renal tubules. The patient became hypogammaglobulinemic after she suffered from measles at 6 years of age. She also suffered from lupus-like syndrome at 7 years of age. The complete remission was obtained by glucocorticosteroid treatment. An intravenous immunoglobulin replacement therapy was introduced at 11 years of age, since then her general condition was stable for more than 20 years. When she was 29 years old, she suffered from generalized malaise, anorexia with body weight loss, and numbness of face. The intractable diarrhea as protein loosing syndrome, and the severe abnormality of electrolyte balance with metabolic acidosis as the functional disorder of renal tubules were found. Her condition was not improved by the electrolytes or alkali replacement therapy. She was admitted for further evaluation and treatment. The intractable diarrhea and the functional disorder of renal tubules were dramatically improved after absolute restriction of food intake under hyperalimentation. When she began to take food, the symptom and sign became worse again. The interstitial nephritis and nonspecific inflammation of intestine were found by the tissue biopsy. The most characteristic finding was the infiltration of lymphocytes (predominantly CD 8 + T lymphocytes) in both intestinal mucosa and renal interstitium. The introduction of glucocorticosteroids improved her general condition and biochemical findings. This CVID case is complicated with intractable diarrhea and the functional disorder of renal tubules which is associated with the infiltration of CD 8 + lymphocytes in intestine and kidney. We consider that such case is very rare and valuable to report.