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We reported a case of an elderly female patient with multi-organ involvement of the ear, eye, nose and heart, with elevated serum inflammatory markers and IgG4, and negative anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies. The patient was suspected to have granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) combined with IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), because both GPA and IgG4-RD can lead to multi-organ involvement, with similar clinical manifestations and consistency in treatment. After treatment with high-dose glucocorticoid combined with cyclophosphamide, the clinical symptoms were relieved. The patient also had a high degree of atrioventricular block (AVB), which is rare in both GPA and IgG4-RD. In this paper we discuss the characteristics of the overlap syndrome, the diagnosis and treatment of this patient and the possible pathological mechanism of AVB, in order to provide reference for clinical treatment.

An elderly woman with a chronic course of disease presented with progressive weakness of lower limbs, heart failure, carbon dioxide retention, periorbital pigmentation, increased hair around the eyebrows, as well as multiple positive autoantibodies. After multidisciplinary team discussion, restrictive ventilatory dysfunction caused by significantly decreased diaphragm movement was taken as a breakthrough to sort out the etiology step by step. Based on clinical manifestations, serological and imaging features, as well as immunohistochemical staining of quadriceps femoris pathological complement, the final diagnosis of inflammatory myopathy associated with anti-mitochondrial antibodies was established. After correcting heart failure, intermittent non-invasive ventilation and rehabilitation training, clinical symptoms and functional status of the patient were significantly improved. The joint participation of the multidisciplinary team to identify the causes and solve problems in diagnosis and treatment decision-making reflects the great significance of multidisciplinary collaboration in rare diseases.

Objectives: Our study aimed to investigate the distinct clinical patterns of seronegative IgG4‐related disease (IgG4‐RD) patients. Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 698 treatment‐naïve IgG4‐RD patients in this study. Patients were divided into four different subgroups according to their baseline serum IgG4 levels. The distinct clinical patterns of seronegative IgG4‐RD patients were revealed through the comparison of baseline clinical data and disease prognosis among the different subgroups. COX regression analyses were used to investigate the risk factors for disease relapse and to construct the nomogram model. Results: Seronegative IgG4‐RD patients account for a minority of IgG4‐RD patients (49/698, 7.02%). The proportions of seronegative IgG‐RD patients in our study and several Asian cohorts were significantly lower than those of the European and American cohorts. Seronegative IgG4‐RD patients got lower serum IgG levels (p < 0.0001), lower eosinophil count (p < 0.0001), lower serum IgE levels (p < 0.0001)), lower IgG4‐RD responder index (RI) scores (p < 0.0001), and fewer affected organ numbers (p < 0.0001) compared with other subgroups, whereas they were more likely to manifest fibrotic type with some special organ involvement. Younger age at onset, GCs monotherapy, elevated C‐reactive protein level, and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate level are the risk factors for the disease relapse of seronegative IgG4‐RD patients. An effective nomogram model predicting disease relapse of seronegative IgG4‐RD patients was constructed. Seronegative IgG4‐RD patients with scores >84.65 at baseline were susceptible to suffering from disease relapse. Conclusions: Distinct clinical features and multiple risk factors for disease relapse of seronegative IgG4‐RD patients have been revealed in this study. A nomogram model was constructed to effectively predict disease relapse during the follow‐up period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a prevalent autoimmune disorder wherein CD4+ T cells play a pivotal role in its pathogenesis. However, the underlying mechanisms driving the hyperactivity of CD4+ T cells in pSS remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the potential role of immunometabolic alterations in driving the hyperactivity of CD4+ T cells in pSS. We employed Seahorse XF assay to evaluate the metabolic phenotype of CD4+ T cells, conducted flow cytometry to assess the effector function and differentiation of CD4+ T cells and measured the level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Additionally, transcriptome sequencing, PCR, and Western blotting were utilized to examine the expression of glycolytic genes. Our investigation revealed that activated CD4+ T cells from pSS patients exhibited elevated aerobic glycolysis, rather than oxidative phosphorylation, resulting in excessive production of IFN-γ and IL-17A. Inhibition of glycolysis by 2-Deoxy-D-glucose reduced the expression of IFN-γ and IL-17A in activated CD4+ T cells and mitigated the differentiation of Th1 and Th17 cells. Furthermore, the expression of glycolytic genes, including CD3E, CD28, PIK3CA, AKT1, mTOR, MYC, LDHA, PFKL, PFKFB3, and PFKFB4, was upregulated in activated CD4+ T cells from pSS patients. Specifically, the expression and activity of LDHA were enhanced, contributing to an increased level of intracellular ROS. Targeting LDHA with FX-11 or inhibiting ROS with N-acetyl-cysteine had a similar effect on reversing the dysfunction of activated CD4+ T cells from pSS patients. Our study unveils heightened aerobic glycolysis in activated CD4+ T cells from pSS patients, and inhibition of glycolysis or its metabolite normalizes the dysfunction of activated CD4+ T cells. These findings suggest that aerobic glycolysis may be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of pSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Aim to evaluate the efficacy and safety of glucocorticoid monotherapy vs combination therapy of cyclophosphamide (CYC) for IgG4 related disease (IgG4-RD). 102 newly diagnosed IgG4-RD patients were enrolled and assigned to 2 groups: Group I was prednisone monotherapy (0.5–1.0 mg/kg.d, tapered gradually) and Group II was glucocorticoid and CYC (50–100 mg per day). Patients were assessed at different periods. Primary end point was relapse rate; secondary end points included response, remission rate and adverse effects. 52 patients were in Group I and 50 in Group II. At 1 month, both groups achieved obvious improvement. Accumulated relapse rate during 1 year was 38.5% in Group 1, including 12 cases with clinical relapse and 8 patients manifesting only serological relapse; whereas there was 12.0% of relapse in Group 2, only 1 with clinical relapse and other 5 patients got serological relapse. The mean flare time in Group II was significantly longer than that in Group I. All relapsing patients in Group I were sensitive to immunosuppressants. Most patients involving more than 6 organs in Group I relapsed during 1 year. IgG4 levels of relapse cases were significantly higher than non-relapsing patients at baseline. Bile duct, lacrimal glands and lymph nodes were commonly relapsed organs in Group I.