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Jordan MB. Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: A disorder of T cell activation, immune regulation, and distinctive immunopathology. Immunol Rev 2024; 322:339-350. [PMID: 38100247 DOI: 10.1111/imr.13298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a disorder that has been recognized since the middle of the last century. In recent decades, increasing understanding of the genetic roots and pathophysiology of HLH has led to improved diagnosis and treatment of this once universally fatal disorder. HLH is best conceptualized as a maladaptive state of excessive T cell activation driving life-threatening myeloid cell activation, largely via interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). In familial forms of HLH (F-HLH), inherited defects of lymphocyte cytotoxic biology underlie excessive T cell activation, demonstrating the importance of the perforin/granzyme pathway as a negative feedback loop limiting acute T cell activation in response to environmental factors. HLH occurring in other contexts and without apparent inherited genetic predisposition remains poorly understood, though it may share some downstream aspects of pathophysiology including excessive IFN-γ action and activation of innate immune effectors. Iatrogenic forms of HLH occurring after immune-activating therapies for cancer are providing new insights into the potential toxicities of inadequately controlled T cell activation. Diagnosing HLH increasingly relies on context-specific measures of T cell activation, IFN-γ activity, and inflammation. Treatment of HLH largely relies on cytotoxic chemotherapy, though targeted therapies against T cells, IFN-γ, and other cytokines are increasingly utilized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael B Jordan
- Division of Immunobiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Division of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Immune Deficiency, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
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Targeting interferon-γ in hyperinflammation: opportunities and challenges. Nat Rev Rheumatol 2021; 17:678-691. [PMID: 34611329 DOI: 10.1038/s41584-021-00694-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Interferon-γ (IFNγ) is a pleiotropic cytokine with multiple effects on the inflammatory response and on innate and adaptive immunity. Overproduction of IFNγ underlies several, potentially fatal, hyperinflammatory or immune-mediated diseases. Several data from animal models and/or from translational research in patients point to a role of IFNγ in hyperinflammatory diseases, such as primary haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, various forms of secondary haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, including macrophage activation syndrome, and cytokine release syndrome, all of which are often managed by rheumatologists or in consultation with rheumatologists. Given the effects of IFNγ on B cells and T follicular helper cells, a role for IFNγ in systemic lupus erythematosus pathogenesis is emerging. To improve our understanding of the role of IFNγ in human disease, IFNγ-related biomarkers that are relevant for the management of hyperinflammatory diseases are progressively being identified and studied, especially because circulating levels of IFNγ do not always reflect its overproduction in tissue. These biomarkers include STAT1 (specifically the phosphorylated form), neopterin and the chemokine CXCL9. IFNγ-neutralizing agents have shown efficacy in the treatment of primary haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in clinical trials and initial promising results have been obtained in various forms of secondary haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, including macrophage activation syndrome. In clinical practice, there is a growing body of evidence supporting the usefulness of circulating CXCL9 levels as a biomarker reflecting IFNγ production.
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Serum ferritin at admission in hospitalized COVID-19 patients as a predictor of mortality. Braz J Infect Dis 2021; 25:101569. [PMID: 33736948 PMCID: PMC7959266 DOI: 10.1016/j.bjid.2021.101569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Revised: 01/16/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Some COVID-19 patients have higher mortality and the responsible factors for this unfavorable outcome is still not well understood. Objective To study the association between ferritin levels at admission, representing an inflammatory state, and hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients. Methods From May through July 2020, SARS-CoV-2 positive patients with moderate to severe clinical symptoms were evaluated at admission, regarding clinical and laboratory data on renal and hepatic function, hematologic parameters, cytomegalovirus co-infection, and acute phase proteins. Results A total of 97 patients were included; mean age = 59.9 ± 16.3 years, 58.8% male, 57.7% non-white, in-hospital mortality = 45.4%. Age, ferritin, C-reactive protein, serum albumin and creatinine were significantly associated with mortality. Ferritin showed area under the curve (AUC) of 0.79 (p < 0.001) for the cut-off of 1873.0 ng/mL, sensitivity of 68.4% and specificity of 79.3% in predicting in-hospital mortality. Age ≥60 years had an odds ratio (OR) of 10.5 (95% CI = 1.8–59.5; p = 0.008) and ferritin ≥1873.0 ng/mL had an OR of 6.0 (95% CI = 1.4–26.2; p = 0.016), both independently associated with mortality based on logistic regression analysis. Conclusion The magnitude of inflammation present at admission of COVID-19 patients, represented by high ferritin levels, is independently predictive of in-hospital mortality.
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Functional and genetic testing in adults with HLH reveals an inflammatory profile rather than a cytotoxicity defect. Blood 2021; 136:542-552. [PMID: 32356861 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2019003664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a life-threatening hyperinflammatory condition. Primary HLH occurs early in life as a result of monogenic biallelic mutations affecting lymphocyte cytotoxicity. Secondary HLH occurs mostly in adults secondary to infection, lymphoma, or rheumatic disease. In this latter setting, lymphocyte cytotoxicity status is not known. We conducted a systematic evaluation of natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity in adult patients with secondary HLH. Adult patients with secondary HLH were prospectively studied ex vivo for total lymphocyte count and subtype, NK cell phenotype, perforin expression and degranulation, and natural or antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity, in comparison with patients affected by the same underlying disease without HLH (disease controls [DCs]) and with healthy controls (HCs). Screening for variants of cytotoxity genes was systematically performed. 68 patients were included in the HLH group and 34 each in the DC and HC groups. In HLH patients, severe and transient lymphopenia, activated NK cell phenotype (eg, increased CD69, ICAM-1, HLADR, and CCR5 expression), and decreased capacity of interferon γ production were observed; mean perforin expression was normal; and degranulation tests and NK cell cytotoxicity were not different from those in DCs. A monoallelic variant of uncertain significance affecting a lymphocyte cytotoxicity gene or the perforin variant A91V was observed in almost 50% of the patients. We detected no major intrinsic cytotoxicity dysfunction in secondary HLH patients compared with DCs and no predicted pathogenic gene variant. The activated NK phenotype profile associated with decreased interferon γ production seems similar to those of other hyperinflammatory diseases such as sepsis or systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
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Janke LJ, Imai DM, Tillman H, Doty R, Hoenerhoff MJ, Xu JJ, Freeman Z, Allen P, Fowlkes NW, Iacobucci I, Dickerson K, Mullighan CG, Vogel P, Rehg JE. Development of Mast Cell and Eosinophil Hyperplasia and HLH/MAS-Like Disease in NSG-SGM3 Mice Receiving Human CD34+ Hematopoietic Stem Cells or Patient-Derived Leukemia Xenografts. Vet Pathol 2021; 58:181-204. [PMID: 33208054 PMCID: PMC8414369 DOI: 10.1177/0300985820970144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Immunocompromised mouse strains expressing human transgenes are being increasingly used in biomedical research. The genetic modifications in these mice cause various cellular responses, resulting in histologic features unique to each strain. The NSG-SGM3 mouse strain is similar to the commonly used NSG (NOD scid gamma) strain but expresses human transgenes encoding stem cell factor (also known as KIT ligand), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and interleukin 3. This report describes 3 histopathologic features seen in these mice when they are unmanipulated or after transplantation with human CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), virally transduced hCD34+ HSCs, or a leukemia patient-derived xenograft. The first feature is mast cell hyperplasia: unmanipulated, naïve mice develop periductular pancreatic aggregates of murine mast cells, whereas mice given the aforementioned human cells develop a proliferative infiltrative interstitial pancreatic mast cell hyperplasia but with human mast cells. The second feature is the predisposition of NSG-SGM3 mice given these human cells to develop eosinophil hyperplasia. The third feature, secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome (HLH/MAS)-like disease, is the most pronounced in both its clinical and histopathologic presentations. As part of this disease, a small number of mice also have histiocytic infiltration of the brain and spinal cord with subsequent neurologic or vestibular signs. The presence of any of these features can confound accurate histopathologic interpretation; therefore, it is important to recognize them as strain characteristics and to differentiate them from what may be experimentally induced in the model being studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J. Janke
- Department of Pathology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Denise M. Imai
- Comparative Pathology Laboratory, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Heather Tillman
- Department of Pathology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | | | - Mark J. Hoenerhoff
- In Vivo Animal Core, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Jiajie J. Xu
- Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Zach Freeman
- Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Portia Allen
- Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Natalie Wall Fowlkes
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Ilaria Iacobucci
- Department of Pathology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Kirsten Dickerson
- Department of Pathology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Charles G. Mullighan
- Department of Pathology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
- Hematological Malignancies Program, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Peter Vogel
- Department of Pathology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Jerold E. Rehg
- Department of Pathology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
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Fisher MA, Lloyd ML. A Review of Murine Cytomegalovirus as a Model for Human Cytomegalovirus Disease-Do Mice Lie? Int J Mol Sci 2020; 22:ijms22010214. [PMID: 33379272 PMCID: PMC7795257 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22010214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2020] [Revised: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Since murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) was first described in 1954, it has been used to model human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) diseases. MCMV is a natural pathogen of mice that is present in wild mice populations and has been associated with diseases such as myocarditis. The species-specific nature of HCMV restricts most research to cell culture-based studies or to the investigation of non-invasive clinical samples, which may not be ideal for the study of disseminated disease. Initial MCMV research used a salivary gland-propagated virus administered via different routes of inoculation into a variety of mouse strains. This revealed that the genetic background of the laboratory mice affected the severity of disease and altered the extent of subsequent pathology. The advent of genetically modified mice and viruses has allowed new aspects of disease to be modeled and the opportunistic nature of HCMV infection to be confirmed. This review describes the different ways that MCMV has been used to model HCMV diseases and explores the continuing difficulty faced by researchers attempting to model HCMV congenital cytomegalovirus disease using the mouse model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle A. Fisher
- Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands 6009, Australia;
| | - Megan L. Lloyd
- Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands 6009, Australia;
- Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Training, Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands 6009, Australia
- Correspondence:
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Gather R, Aichele P, Goos N, Rohr J, Pircher H, Kögl T, Zeiser R, Hengel H, Schmitt-Gräff A, Weaver C, Ehl S. Trigger-dependent differences determine therapeutic outcome in murine primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Eur J Immunol 2020; 50:1770-1782. [PMID: 32419134 DOI: 10.1002/eji.201948123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2019] [Revised: 04/29/2020] [Accepted: 05/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL) is a hyperinflammatory syndrome affecting patients with genetic cytotoxicity defects. Perforin-deficient (PKO) mice recapitulate the full clinical picture of FHL after infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). Hyperactivated CD8+ T cells and IFN-γ have been identified as the key drivers of FHL and represent targets for therapeutic interventions. However, the response of patients is variable. This could be due to trigger-dependent differences in pathogenesis, which is difficult to address in FHL patients, since the trigger frequently escapes detection. We established an alternative FHL model using intravenous infection of PKO mice with murine CMV (MCMV)Smith . PKO mice developed acute FHL after both infections and fulfilled HLH diagnostic criteria accompanied by excessive IFN-γ production by disease-inducing T cells, that enrich in the BM. However, direct comparison of the two infection models disclosed trigger-dependence of FHL progression and revealed a higher contribution of CD4 T cells and NK cells to IFN-γ production after MCMV infection. Importantly, therapeutic intervention by IFN-γ neutralization or CD8+ T-cell depletion had less benefit in MCMV-triggered FHL compared to LCMV-triggered FHL, likely due to MCMV-induced cytopathology. Thus, the context of the specific triggering viral infection can impact the success of targeted immunotherapeutic HLH control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Gather
- Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency (CCI), Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Immunodeficiency, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany.,Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Peter Aichele
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Immunology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Nadja Goos
- Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency (CCI), Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Immunodeficiency, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jan Rohr
- Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency (CCI), Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Immunodeficiency, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany.,Center for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Hanspeter Pircher
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Immunology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Tamara Kögl
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Immunology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Robert Zeiser
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Hartmut Hengel
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Virology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Annette Schmitt-Gräff
- Department of General Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Pathology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Casey Weaver
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Stephan Ehl
- Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency (CCI), Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Immunodeficiency, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany
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Crayne CB, Albeituni S, Nichols KE, Cron RQ. The Immunology of Macrophage Activation Syndrome. Front Immunol 2019; 10:119. [PMID: 30774631 PMCID: PMC6367262 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 395] [Impact Index Per Article: 79.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2018] [Accepted: 01/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Synonymous with secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) is a term used by rheumatologists to describe a potentially life-threatening complication of systemic inflammatory disorders, most commonly systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Clinical and laboratory features of MAS include sustained fever, hyperferritinemia, pancytopenia, fibrinolytic coagulopathy, and liver dysfunction. Soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha chain (sCD25) and sCD163 may be elevated, and histopathology often reveals characteristic increased hemophagocytic activity in the bone marrow (and other tissues), with positive CD163 (histiocyte) staining. A common hypothesis as to the pathophysiology of many cases of MAS proposes a defect in lymphocyte cytolytic activity. Specific heterozygous gene mutations in familial HLH-associated cytolytic pathway genes (e.g., PRF1, UNC13D) have been linked to a substantial subset of MAS patients. In addition, the pro-inflammatory cytokine environment, particularly IL-6, has been shown to decrease NK cell cytolytic function. The inability of NK cells and cytolytic CD8 T cells to lyse infected and otherwise activated antigen presenting cells results in prolonged cell-to-cell (innate and adaptive immune cells) interactions and amplification of a pro-inflammatory cytokine cascade. The cytokine storm results in activation of macrophages, causing hemophagocytosis, as well as contributing to multi-organ dysfunction. In addition to macrophages, dendritic cells likely play a critical role in antigen presentation to cytolytic lymphocytes, as well as contributing to cytokine expression. Several cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor, interferon-gamma, and numerous interleukins (i.e., IL-1, IL-6, IL-18, IL-33), have been implicated in the cytokine cascade. In addition to broadly immunosuppressive therapies, novel cytokine targeted treatments are being explored to dampen the overly active immune response that is responsible for much of the pathology seen in MAS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney B Crayne
- Pediatric Rheumatology, University of Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States
| | - Sabrin Albeituni
- Department of Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States
| | - Kim E Nichols
- Department of Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States
| | - Randy Q Cron
- Pediatric Rheumatology, University of Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States
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