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T-cell activation profiles distinguish hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and early sepsis.

ABSTRACT: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a fatal disorder of immune hyperactivation that has been described as a cytokine storm. Sepsis due to known or suspected infection has also been viewed as a cytokine storm. Although clinical similarities between these syndromes suggest similar immunopathology and may create diagnostic uncertainty, distinguishing them is critical as treatments are widely divergent. We examined T-cell profiles from children with either HLH or sepsis and found that HLH is characterized by acute T-cell activation, in clear contrast to sepsis. Activated T cells in patients with HLH were characterized as CD38high/HLA-DR+ effector cells, with activation of CD8+ T cells being most pronounced. Activated T cells were type 1 polarized, proliferative, and displayed evidence of recent and persistent activation. Circulating activated T cells appeared to be broadly characteristic of HLH, as they were seen in children with and without genetic lesions or identifiable infections and resolved with conventional treatment of HLH. Furthermore, we observed even greater activation and type 1 polarization in tissue-infiltrating T cells, described here for the first time in a series of patients with HLH. Finally, we observed that a threshold of >7% CD38high/HLA-DR+ cells among CD8+ T cells had strong positive and negative predictive value for distinguishing HLH from early sepsis or healthy controls. We conclude that the cytokine storm of HLH is marked by distinctive T-cell activation whereas early sepsis is not, and that these 2 syndromes can be readily distinguished by T-cell phenotypes.

SUBMITTER: Chaturvedi V

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8085480 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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T-cell activation profiles distinguish hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and early sepsis.

Chaturvedi Vandana V Marsh Rebecca A RA Zoref-Lorenz Adi A Owsley Erika E Chaturvedi Vijaya V Nguyen Trung C TC Goldman Jordana R JR Henry Michael M MM Greenberg Jay N JN Ladisch Stephan S Hermiston Michelle L ML Jeng Michael M Naqvi Ahmed A Allen Carl E CE Wong Hector R HR Jordan Michael B MB

Blood 20210401 17

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a fatal disorder of immune hyperactivation that has been described as a cytokine storm. Sepsis due to known or suspected infection has also been viewed as a cytokine storm. Although clinical similarities between these syndromes suggest similar immunopathology and may create diagnostic uncertainty, distinguishing them is critical as treatments are widely divergent. We examined T-cell profiles from children with either HLH or sepsis and found that HLH is ...[more]

PMID: 33512385

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Project description:ObjectivesSome children with sepsis exhibit a sustained hyperinflammatory response that can trigger secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome. Although hypofibrinogenemia is a shared feature of sepsis and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, there are no data about fibrinogen as a biomarker to identify children with sepsis/secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome overlap. We hypothesized that hypofibrinogenemia is associated with poor outcomes and secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome and has utility as a screening biomarker for this sepsis phenotype.DesignA retrospective cohort study of patients less than or equal to 21 years treated for severe sepsis from January 2012 to December 2014.SettingEmergency department and PICU at a single academic children's hospital.PatientsConsecutive patients with greater than or equal to one episode of hypofibrinogenemia (serum fibrinogen < 150 mg/dL) within 7 days of sepsis were compared with a random sample of patients without hypofibrinogenemia using an a priori sample size target of 190. Thirty-eight patients with hypofibrinogenemia were compared with 154 without hypofibrinogenemia.InterventionsNone.Measurements and main resultsThe primary outcome was "complicated course" (composite of 28-d mortality or ≥ two organ failures at 7 d). Secondary outcomes were 28-day mortality and fulfillment of diagnostic criteria for secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome. We used Wilcoxon rank-sum, Fisher exact test, and multivariable logistic regression to compare patients with versus without hypofibrinogenemia. Patients with hypofibrinogenemia were more likely to have a complicated course (73.7% vs 29.2%; p < 0.001), 28-day mortality (26.3% vs 7.1%, p = 0.002), and meet diagnostic criteria for secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome (21.1% vs 1.3%; p < 0.001). After controlling for confounders, hypofibrinogenemia remained associated with complicated course (adjusted odds ratio, 8.8; 95% CI, 3.5-22.4), mortality (adjusted odds ratio, 6.0; 95% CI, 2.0-18.1), and secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome (adjusted odds ratio, 27.6; 95% CI, 4.4-173).ConclusionsHypofibrinogenemia was independently associated with poor outcome and secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome in pediatric sepsis. Measurement of fibrinogen may provide a pragmatic biomarker to identify children with possible sepsis/secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome overlap for whom further diagnostic testing and consideration of adjunctive immunomodulatory therapies should be considered.

Project description:Expression data from CD8+ T cells and CD68+ monocytes from patients with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, sepsis, and persistent systemic inflammatory response syndrome Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a syndrome characterized by pathologic immune activation in which prompt recognition and initiation of immune suppression is essential for survival. Children with HLH have many overlapping clinical features with critically ill children with sepsis and persistent systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in whom alternative therapies are indicated. To determine if plasma biomarkers could differentiate HLH from other inflammatory conditions and to better define a ‘core inflammatory signature’ of HLH, concentrations of inflammatory plasma proteins were compared in 40 patients with HLH to 47 pediatric patients with severe sepsis or SIRS. Seventeen of 135 analytes were significantly different in HLH plasma compared to SIRS/sepsis, including increased interferon-gamma (IFNg)-regulated chemokines CXCL9, CXCL10 and CXCL11. Further, a 5-analyte plasma protein classifier including these chemokines was able to differentiate HLH from SIRS/sepsis. Gene expression in CD8+ T cells and CD68+ monocytes from blood were also enriched for IFNg pathway signatures in peripheral blood cells from patients with HLH compared to SIRS/sepsis. This study identifies differential expression of inflammatory proteins as a diagnostic strategy to identify critically ill children with HLH. Further, comprehensive unbiased analysis of inflammatory plasma proteins and global gene expression demonstrates that IFNg signaling is uniquely elevated in HLH. In addition to demonstrating the ability of diagnostic criteria for HLH, sepsis and SIRS to identify groups with distinct inflammatory patterns, results from this study support the potential for prospective evaluation of inflammatory biomarkers to aid in diagnosis of and optimizing therapeutic strategies for children with distinctive hyperinflammatory syndromes.

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T-cell activation profiles distinguish hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and early sepsis.

Publications

T-cell activation profiles distinguish hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and early sepsis.

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