Project description:The complement-mediated renal diseases C3 glomerulopathy (C3G) and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) strongly associate with inherited and acquired abnormalities in the regulation of the complement alternative pathway (AP). The major negative regulator of the AP is the plasma protein complement factor H (FH). Abnormalities in FH result in uncontrolled activation of C3 through the AP and associate with susceptibility to both C3G and aHUS. Although previously developed FH-deficient animal models have provided important insights into the mechanisms underlying susceptibility to these unique phenotypes, these models do not entirely reproduce the clinical observations. FH is predominantly synthesized in the liver. We generated mice with hepatocyte-specific FH deficiency and showed that these animals have reduced plasma FH levels with secondary reduction in plasma C3. Unlike mice with complete FH deficiency, hepatocyte-specific FH-deficient animals developed neither plasma C5 depletion nor accumulation of C3 along the glomerular basement membrane. In contrast, subtotal FH deficiency associated with mesangial C3 accumulation consistent with C3G. Although there was no evidence of spontaneous thrombotic microangiopathy, the hepatocyte-specific FH-deficient animals developed severe C5-dependent thrombotic microangiopathy after induction of complement activation within the kidney by accelerated serum nephrotoxic nephritis. Taken together, our data indicate that subtotal FH deficiency can give rise to either spontaneous C3G or aHUS after a complement-activating trigger within the kidney and that the latter is C5 dependent.
Project description:Background. Primary thrombotic microangiopathy includes hemolytic uremic syndrome caused by Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Methodology. A retrospective study that included patients younger than 18 years diagnosed with primary thrombotic microangiopathy between 2011 and 2021. Results. Thirty patients were included, of which 63% corresponded to a hemolytic uremic syndrome caused by Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, and 30% to the atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome. The median age was 2.8 years and female sex predominated at 57%. On admission to the emergency room, fever and fatigue were the most frequent symptoms (93%), followed by oliguria and anuria (80%). 48% of patients received hemodialysis during their care. Mortality was estimated at 13%. Conclusion. This study constitutes the largest series of primary thrombotic microangiopathy in the pediatric population of Latin America, where the etiological and clinical behavior of this condition is described.
Project description:Background and objectivesComplement alternative pathway (cAP) activation has recently been recognized as a key pathogenic event in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). cAP dysregulation is also a major determinant of thrombotic microangiopathies (TMA), which can in turn complicate AAV. We explored the prognostic significance of cAP activation and of histologic evidence of TMA in a cohort of patients with renal AAV.Design, setting, participants, & measurementsWe studied 46 patients with AAV diagnosed between January 1990 and December 2011 at the Nephrology Unit of Parma University Hospital; 30 of them had undergone renal biopsy. We analyzed serum levels of C3 (sC3) and C4 (sC4) and, for 19 patients who had frozen plasma, plasma Bb and C5b-9 levels. We also reviewed all kidney biopsy specimens, specifically searching for histologic signs of TMA, and performed immunofluorescence or immunohistochemistry for C3d, C4d, Bb and C5b-9.ResultssC3 was below the lower limit of normal in 35% of the patients, whereas C4 was low in only 2%. Patients with low sC3 tended to be older (P=0.04) and to have lower eGFR at diagnosis (P=0.06). The median follow-up was 78 months (interquartile range, 18-135 months); 18 patients reached ESRD (10 of 14 and 8 of 26 in the low and normal sC3 groups, respectively). Death-censored renal survival was lower in the low sC3 group than in the normal sC3 group (log-rank test, P=0.01). Eight of the 30 patients who had undergone biopsy (27%) had histologic signs of TMA; these signs were more frequent in patients with low sC3 (5 of 10 versus 3 of 20; P=0.04). Notably, patients with histologic signs of TMA had a dramatically worse death-censored renal survival than patients without TMA (log-rank test, P=0.01), with ESRD occurring in 8 of 8 patients with TMA versus 8 of 22 patients without TMA.ConclusionsLow sC3 levels and histologic signs of TMA are associated with a poor renal prognosis in patients with AAV.
Project description:Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is a rare renal thrombotic microangiopathy commonly associated with rare genetic variants in complement system genes, unique to each patient/family. Here, we report 14 sporadic aHUS patients carrying the same mutation, R139W, in the complement C3 gene. The clinical presentation was with a rapid progression to end-stage renal disease (6 of 14) and an unusually high frequency of cardiac (8 of 14) and/or neurologic (5 of 14) events. Although resting glomerular endothelial cells (GEnCs) remained unaffected by R139W-C3 sera, the incubation of those sera with GEnC preactivated with pro-inflammatory stimuli led to increased C3 deposition, C5a release, and procoagulant tissue-factor expression. This functional consequence of R139W-C3 resulted from the formation of a hyperactive C3 convertase. Mutant C3 showed an increased affinity for factor B and a reduced binding to membrane cofactor protein (MCP; CD46), but a normal regulation by factor H (FH). In addition, the frequency of at-risk FH and MCP haplotypes was significantly higher in the R139W-aHUS patients, compared with normal donors or to healthy carriers. These genetic background differences could explain the R139W-aHUS incomplete penetrance. These results demonstrate that this C3 mutation, especially when associated with an at-risk FH and/or MCP haplotypes, becomes pathogenic following an inflammatory endothelium-damaging event.
Project description:Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a syndrome of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia with end-organ dysfunction. Although the advent of plasma exchange, immunosuppression, and complement inhibition has improved morbidity and mortality for primary TMAs, the management of secondary TMAs, particularly drug-induced TMA, remains less clear. TMA related to cancer drugs disrupts the antineoplastic treatment course, increasing the risk of cancer progression. Chemotherapeutic agents such as mitomycin-C, gemcitabine, and platinum-based drugs as well as targeted therapies such as antiangiogenesis agents and proteasome inhibitors have been implicated in oncotherapy-associated TMA. Among TMA subtypes, drug-induced TMA is less well-understood. Treatment generally involves withdrawal of the offending agent and supportive care targeting blood pressure and proteinuria reduction. Immunosuppression and therapeutic plasma exchange have not shown clear benefit. The terminal complement inhibitor, eculizumab, has shown promising results in some cases of chemotherapy-associated TMA including in re-exposure. However, the data are limited, and unlike in primary atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, the role of complement in the pathogenesis of drug-induced TMA is unclear. Larger multicenter studies and unified definitions are needed to elucidate the extent of the problem and potential treatment strategies.
Project description:The syndrome of thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a clinical-pathological entity characterized by microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and end organ involvement. It comprises a spectrum of underlying etiologies that may differ in children and adults. In children, apart from ruling out shigatoxin-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and other infection-associated TMA like Streptococcus pneumoniae-HUS, rare inherited causes including complement-associated HUS, cobalamin defects, and mutations in diacylglycerol kinase epsilon gene must be investigated. TMA should also be considered in the setting of solid organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In this review, acquired and inherited causes of TMA are described with a focus on particularities of the main causes of TMA in children. A pragmatic approach that may help the clinician tailor evaluation and management is provided. The described approach will allow for early initiation of treatment while waiting for the definitive diagnosis of the underlying TMA.
Project description:Spaceflight-related stresses impact health via various body systems, including the hematopoietic and immune systems, with effects ranging from moderate alterations of homeostasis to serious illness. Oxidative stress appears to be involved in these changes, and the transcription factor Nrf2, which regulates expression of a set of cytoprotective and antioxidative stress response genes, has been implicated in the response to spaceflight-induced stresses. Here, we show through analyses of mice from the MHU-3 project, in which Nrf2-knockout mice travelled in space for 31 days, that mice lacking Nrf2 suffer more seriously from spaceflight-induced immunosuppression than wild-type mice. We discovered that a one-month spaceflight triggered the expression of tissue inflammatory marker genes in wild-type mice, an effect that was even more pronounced in the absence of Nrf2. Concomitant with induction of inflammatory conditions, the consumption of coagulation-fibrinolytic factors and platelets was elevated by spaceflight and further accelerated by Nrf2 deficiency. These results highlight that Nrf2 mitigates spaceflight-induced inflammation, subsequent immunosuppression, and thrombotic microangiopathy. These observations reveal a new strategy to relieve health problems encountered during spaceflight.
Project description:Thrombotic microangiopathy can manifest in a diverse range of diseases and is characterized by thrombocytopenia, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, and organ injury, including AKI. It can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality, but a systematic approach to investigation and prompt initiation of supportive management and, in some cases, effective specific treatment can result in good outcomes. This review considers the classification, pathology, epidemiology, characteristics, and pathogenesis of the thrombotic microangiopathies, and outlines a pragmatic approach to diagnosis and management.
Project description:Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a condition characterized by thrombocytopenia and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (MAHA) with varying degrees of organ damage in the setting of normal international normalized ratio and activated partial thromboplastin time. Complement has been implicated in the etiology of TMA, which are classified as primary TMA when genetic and acquired defects in complement proteins are the primary drivers of TMA (complement-mediated TMA or atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, aHUS) or secondary TMA, when complement activation occurs in the context of other disease processes, such as infection, malignant hypertension, autoimmune disease, malignancy, transplantation, pregnancy, and drugs. It is important to recognize that this classification is not absolute because genetic variants in complement genes have been identified in patients with secondary TMA, and distinguishing complement/genetic-mediated TMA from secondary causes of TMA can be challenging and lead to potentially harmful delays in treatment. In this review, we focus on data supporting the involvement of complement in aHUS and in secondary forms of TMA associated with malignant hypertension, drugs, autoimmune diseases, pregnancy, and infections. In aHUS, genetic variants in complement genes are found in up to 60% of patients, whereas in the secondary forms, the finding of genetic defects is variable, ranging from almost 60% in TMA associated with malignant hypertension to less than 10% in drug-induced TMA. On the basis of these findings, a new approach to management of TMA is proposed.