Severe adult hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLHa) correlates with HLH-related gene variants
Coralie Bloch‐Queyrat, Jean Philippe Jaïs, Marine Gil, Marouane Boubaya, Yves Lepelletier, Brigitte Bader‐Meunier, Nizar Mahlaoui, Nicolas Garcelon, Olivier Lambotte, David Launay, C. Larroche, Estibaliz Lazaro, Francois Liffermann, Olivier Lortholary, Marc Michel, Jean‐Marie Michot, Pierre Morel, Morgane Cheminant, Felipe Suárez, Louis Terriou, G. Urbanski, Jean‐François Viallard, Alexandre Alcaïs, Alain Fischer, Geneviève de Saint Basile, Olivier Hermine, Coralie Bloch‐Queyrat, Jean Philippe Jaïs, Francois Liffermann, Pierre Morel, Morgane Cheminant, Felipe Suárez, Olivier Hermine, Fabrice Bonnet, Pascal Godemer, Gandhi Damaj, Olivier Fain, Olivier Lambotte, David Launay, Louis Terriou, C. Larroche, Estibaliz Lazaro, Jean‐François Viallard, Francois Liffermann, Olivier Lortholary, Marc Michel, Jean‐Marie Michot, Pierre Morel, Frédéric Pène, Antoinette Perlat, G. Urbanski
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The contribution of genetic factors to the severity of adult hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLHa) remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess a potential link between HLHa outcomes and HLH-related gene variants. METHODS: Clinical characteristics of 130 HLHa patients (age ≥ 18 years and HScore ≥ 169) and genotype of 8 HLH-related genes (LYST, PRF1, UNC13-D, STX11, STXBP2, RAB27A, XIAP, and SAP) were collected. A total of 34 variants found in only 6 genes were selected on the basis of their frequency and criteria predicted to impair protein function. Severity was defined by refractory disease to HLH treatment, death, or transfer to an intensive care unit. RESULTS: HLHa-associated diseases (ADs) were neoplasia (n = 49 [37.7%]), autoimmune/inflammatory disease (n = 33 [25.4%]), or idiopathic when no AD was identified (n = 48 [36.9%]). Infectious events occurred in 76 (58.5%) patients and were equally distributed in all ADs. Severe and refractory HLHa were observed in 80 (61.5%) and 64 (49.2%) patients, respectively. HScore, age, sex ratio, AD, and infectious events showed no significant association with HLHa severity. Variants were identified in 71 alleles and were present in 56 (43.1%) patients. They were distributed as follows: 44 (34.4%), 9 (6.9%), and 3 (2.3%) patients carrying 1, 2, and 3 variant alleles, respectively. In a logistic regression model, only the number of variants was significantly associated with HLHa severity (1 vs 0: 3.86 [1.73-9.14], P = .0008; 2-3 vs 0: 29.4 [3.62-3810], P = .0002) and refractoriness (1 vs 0: 2.47 [1.17-5.34], P = .018; 2-3 vs 0: 13.2 [2.91-126.8], P = .0003). CONCLUSIONS: HLH-related gene variants may be key components to the severity and refractoriness of HLHa.