Citations

HLA‐DQ8 is associated with certain autoimmune diseases including celiac disease, juvenile diabetes mellitus, and rheumatoid arthritis. These diseases have significantly high morbidity and mortality rates and often require chronic, life‐long immunosuppressive therapy, especially in the case of rheumatoid arthritis. Recent studies have determined that commensal microorganisms from the gut flora can modulate the development of autoimmune diseases although the mechanism of action remains elusive. We examined the systemic immunological effects following oral exposure to live commensal bacteria within naive AEoDQ8 mice. Specifically, Prevotella species was isolated and cultured from the small intestine of celiac patients and administered by oral gavages every 48 hours for 2 weeks to AEo DQ8 mice. Significant decreases in serum IL‐17 expressed in pg/ml (2406 to 1662, □33%) and GM‐CSF (15.5 to 9.7, □40%) were detected in the sera of the group administered live bacteria as compared to the group administered sham gavages. The decrease in serum IL‐6, G‐CSF, MIP1a, and MIP1b levels did not reach statistical significance. Also, no difference in serum TGFbeta levels was observed between the two groups. However, FACS analysis revealed an increase in splenic CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T‐cells in the group administered live bacteria as compared to the control group, 11.4% vs. 8.0%, respectively. These findings suggest that gram negative, commensal bacteria can suppress the expression of pro‐inflammatory IL‐17 at a systemic level.

Abstract Context Single-minded homologue 1 (SIM1) is a transcription factor with several physiological and developmental functions. Haploinsufficiency of SIM1 is associated with early-onset obesity with or without Prader-Willi–like (PWL) features and may exhibit incomplete penetrance. Case Description Next-generation sequencing was performed for 2 male patients with obesity, including 1 man presenting with intellectual disability (ID), body mass index (BMI) of 47.4, and impulse-control disorder, and the other man with early obesity (BMI of 36); sequencing revealed a missense variant in SIM1 (c.2144G>T; p.G715V) in both individuals. Previous studies have identified several disease-associated variants that fall near the p.G715V variant within the C-terminal domain of SIM1. We examined p.G715V variant stability and activity in a doxycycline-inducible stable cell line transfected with an artificial reporter construct and either ARNT or ARNT2 as a partner protein. Conclusions Functional testing of the p.G715V variant revealed a significant reduction in SIM1-mediated transcriptional activity. We also generated the first ab initio hybrid protein model for full-length SIM1 to show the predicted spatial relationship between p.G715V and other previously described variants in this region and identified a putative mutation hotspot within the C-terminus. Significant clinical heterogeneity has been observed in patients with SIM1 variants, particularly with regards to the PWL phenotype. In the patient with ID, a second variant of uncertain significance in CHD2 was identified that may contribute to his ID and behavioral disturbances, emphasizing the role of additional genetic modifiers.

AbstractIntroductionConventional Z‐scores are generated by subtracting the mean and dividing by the standard deviation. More recent methods linearly correct for age, sex, and education, so that these “adjusted” Z‐scores better represent whether an individual's cognitive performance is abnormal. Extreme negative Z‐scores for individuals relative to this normative distribution are considered indicative of cognitive deficiency.MethodsIn this article, we consider nonlinear shape constrained additive models accounting for age, sex, and education (correcting for nonlinearity). Additional shape constrained additive models account for varying standard deviation of the cognitive scores with age (correcting for heterogeneity of variance).ResultsCorrected Z‐scores based on nonlinear shape constrained additive models provide improved adjustment for age, sex, and education, as indicated by higher adjusted‐R2.DiscussionNonlinearly corrected Z‐scores with respect to age, sex, and education with age‐varying residual standard deviation allow for improved detection of non‐normative extreme cognitive scores.

AbstractIntroductionComparison of tau (flortaucipir) positron emission tomography (FTP‐PET) to autopsy is important to demonstrate the relationship of FTP‐PET to neuropathologic findings.MethodsAutopsies were performed on 26 participants who had antemortem FTP‐PET. FTP‐PET standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) were compared to autopsy diagnoses and Braak tangle stage. Quantitative tau burden was compared to regional FTP‐PET signal.ResultsParticipants with Braak stages of IV or greater had elevated FTP‐PET signal. FTP‐PET was elevated in participants with Alzheimer's disease. An FTP‐PET SUVR cut point of 1.29 was determined to be optimal. Quantitative measurements of hippocampal and temporal lobe tau burden were highly correlated to FTP‐PET signal (rho's from 0.61 to 0.70, P ≤ .02).DiscussionElevated FTP‐PET reflects Braak IV or greater neuropathology. Participants with primary age‐related tauopathy and hippocampal sclerosis did not show elevated FTP‐PET signal. Secondary neuropathologic diagnoses of Alzheimer's disease neuropathologic change can lead to borderline elevated FTP‐PET signal.

AbstractIntroductionThe Advancing Research and Treatment in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration and Longitudinal Evaluation of Familial Frontotemporal Dementia Subjects longitudinal studies were designed to describe the natural history of familial‐frontotemporal lobar degeneration due to autosomal dominant mutations.MethodsWe examined cognitive performance, behavioral ratings, and brain volumes from the first time point in 320 MAPT, GRN, and C9orf72 family members, including 102 non–mutation carriers, 103 asymptomatic carriers, 43 mildly/questionably symptomatic carriers, and 72 carriers with dementia.ResultsAsymptomatic carriers showed similar scores on all clinical measures compared with noncarriers but reduced frontal and temporal volumes. Those with mild/questionable impairment showed decreased verbal recall, fluency, and Trail Making Test performance and impaired mood and self‐monitoring. Dementia was associated with impairment in all measures. All MAPT carriers with dementia showed temporal atrophy, but otherwise, there was no single cognitive test or brain region that was abnormal in all subjects.DiscussionImaging changes appear to precede clinical changes in familial‐frontotemporal lobar degeneration, but specific early clinical and imaging changes vary across individuals.

Abstract Detection of an M-protein (monoclonal immunoglobulin) has been used to diagnose and monitor multiple myeloma (MM). As therapies for MM have improved, more sensitive methods have been used to define response: immunofixation electrophoresis (IFX) of serum and urine, normalization of the serum immunoglobulin free light chain (FLC) ratio, and high sensitivity flow cytometry to detect clonal plasma bone marrow cells. It is hoped that these more sensitive approaches will differentiate those patients with minimal residual disease (MRD) versus no residual disease (NRD), that later which could mean a cure. Flow cytometry of plasma cells requires bone marrow aspiration, which is inconvenient and expensive and is potentially limited by sampling bias. More sensitive methods to differentiate MRD from NRD using serum would be advantageous. We have developed a sensitive test for the presence of the monoclonal antibody produced by the plasma cells which may serve as a substitute for invasive bone marrow biopsy. Briefly, patient serum is enriched for immunoglobulins (Ig) and the Ig light chains are decoupled from the heavy chain by reduction with DTT. The mass distribution of the light chains is resolved using a micro LC-ESI-Q-TOF mass spectrometry and the presence of the M-protein is detected as a spike in the mass distribution. In addition to the detection, the accurate mass measurement of the light chain serves as a unique individualized marker which can aid in detection in subsequent patient monitoring. We have termed this method: monoclonal-immunoglobulin-Rapid-Accurate-Mass-Measurement (miRAMM). By spiking monoclonal immunoglobulins into human serum, we have demonstrated that miRAMM is approximately 1000x more sensitive than SPEP at detecting M-proteins. Initial results on 21 patients in stringent complete response (sCR) demonstrated that 67% (n=14) had detectable malignant specific clones by miRAMM. Given these promising results we have extended the method to a larger series of myeloma patients for whom we had long term follow-up and serum samples prior to treatment and at 6-12 months status post stem cell treatment. The results of this data will be correlated to the clinical outcomes for these patients. Early results demonstrate the potential of miRAMM to be a more sensitive, cost effective approach to detect MRD compared with current methods. Disclosures Murray: Mayo Clinic: Patent Application filed Patents & Royalties. Barnidge:Mayo Clinic: Patent filed Patents & Royalties.

Introduction: The clinical presentation and frequency of organ involvement are quite distinct in patients with IgM amyloidosis compared to patients with non-IgM amyloidosis, with less heart involvement and more nerve, soft tissue and lung involvement in IgM patients. It has been observed that immunoglobulin light chain variable region (IGVL) gene and gene family of the plasma cell clone impact phenotypic manifestations in AL amyloidosis, particularly organ tropism. (Kourelis et al. Blood. 2017;129). Given the variability in clinical features amongst patients with IgM vs. non IgM AL amyloidosis, we hypothesized that IGVL gene usage would be different between these two groups. Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed IgM and non-IgM amyloidosis seen at our institution from 01/2006 to 12/2015 were identified. IGVL gene usage was assessed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) as previously described. (Vrana et al Blood 2009;Dasari et al J of Proteome Res; Kourelis et al. Blood. 2017). Mass spectrometry data for IGVL analysis was obtained from clinically available data. LC/MS/MS was performed on available archival specimens when such data was not available clinically. Results: Patients with newly diagnosed amyloidosis who had sufficient mass spectrometry data on fat aspirate or tissue biopsy for IGVL gene usage identification were included (IgM AL, N=44 and Non-IgM AL, N=391). Clinical Features: As expected, differences were noted in baseline characteristics of patients with IgM vs. non-IgM AL amyloidosis. Patients with IgM amyloidosis were older (68 vs. 64 years, p=0.04) and more likely to have kappa as the involved light chain (34% vs. 25%, p=0.2), though the difference did not reach statistical significance. IgM amyloidosis patients had lower difference in involved and uninvolved free light chains (dFLC) (15.5 vs. 25.8 mg/dL, p=0.01) and lower NTProBNP levels (median: 1987 vs. 2655 pg/mL, p=0.02) compared with non-IgM amyloid patients. Presence of t(11;14) was less common by FISH (30% vs. 48%, p=0.1), though the difference did not reach statistical significance. Patterns of organ involvement were different, with heart involvement being less frequent in IgM patients (64% vs. 76%), while peripheral nerve (30% vs. 18%, p=0.05), soft tissue (41% vs. 21%, p=0.005) and lung involvement (7% vs. 3%, p=0.1) were more common in patients with IgM vs. non-IgM AL amyloidosis. There was no difference in liver (9% vs. 15%), kidney (50% vs. 51%) GI (23% vs. 25%) or autonomic nervous system involvement (18% vs. 14%). IGVL Gene Usage: As shown in Figure 1, IGVL usage differed across the two groups. In the lambda group, LV2-08 (14% vs. 2%, p<0.001) and LV2-14 (36% vs. 10%, p<0.001) were more common in IgM amyloid patients, while LV1-44 (0% vs. 10%, p=0.02) and LV6-57 (2% vs. 18%, p=0.004) were less common in the IgM group. There was also a trend towards less frequent involvement of LV3-01 (2% vs. 12%, p=0.07) in IgM amyloid patients. In the kappa group, KV4-01 (11% vs. 4%, p=0.04) was more common in patients with IgM amyloidosis. Correlation Between IGVL Gene usage and Clinical Features: IGVL gene usage correlated with disease characteristics and differences in the clinical presentation of patients across the two groups. LV2-14 was more commonly seen in IgM amyloid patients (above). It has been previously associated with a higher frequency of peripheral nerve involvement (Kourelis et al. Blood 2017), which was more frequent in IgM group. LV2-14 is also associated with low dFLC levels, which were noted to be lower in the IgM AL cohort. LV1-44 has been associated with higher likelihood of cardiac involvement. LV1-44 was seen less frequently in the IgM amyloid patients, who also had lower rates of cardiac involvement. LV6-57 has been historically associated with higher rates of t(11;14). It was less common in IgM AL patients, who also had lower rates of t(11;14). Conclusions: IGVL gene usage differed significantly in patients with IgM vs. non-IgM amyloidosis, correlating with differences in disease characteristics and organ involvement. This is the first study to our knowledge to report IGVL gene usage differences in IgM vs. non-IgM AL amyloidosis. Differences in IGVL gene usage may explain the distinct clinical presentation seen in IgM amyloidosis, the biology of which has so far remained poorly understood. *SS and SD contributed equally Disclosures Dasari: The Binding Site: Patents & Royalties: US Patent Rights on Mass Spectroscopy Licensing agreement with The Binding Site, Research Funding. Dispenzieri:Alnylam: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy; Akcea: Consultancy; Intellia: Consultancy. Murray:The Binding Site: Patents & Royalties: US Patent Rights on Mass Spectroscopy Licensing agreement with The Binding Site, Research Funding. Kumar:Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding. Gertz:Prothena: Honoraria; Alnylam: Honoraria; Ionis: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; Spectrum: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria.

Introduction: Primary cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is a rare disorder and accounts for 15% of all autoimmune hemolytic anemia. It is associated with an underlying monoclonal protein, which is IgM kappa in the majority of patients. The IgM protein triggers complement mediated extravascular hemolysis. The underlying pathophysiology by which autoimmune hemolysis affects only a small subset of patients with IgM monoclonal protein is poorly understood. Changes in the IgM structure via post-translational modifications of light chains (LCs), such as glycosylation are enriched in patients with AL amyloidosis, another rare disorder where disease manifestations are driven by the protein structure. (Kumar S et al Leukemia 2017). We hypothesized that presence of post-translational glycosylation is a potential mechanism allowing the IgM protein to trigger complement mediated hemolysis in CAD. Methods: Serum samples of patients being evaluated for monoclonal protein disorders were analyzed by immuno-enrichment-based matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), termed MASS-FIX. Patients who had an underlying IgM monoclonal protein identified by MASS-FIX from 07/23/2018 to 5/14/2019 were included this study. Glycosylated LCs were identified by the shift in their molecular mass due to the added molecular mass of the carbohydrates. Glycosylation was compared in patients with IgM associated CAD vs. other IgM disorders. Results: 438 unique patients with an IgM monoclonal protein identified on MASS-FIX were included in the study. CAD was present in 3% (n=14) of patients. The primary underlying diagnosis in the remaining patients was monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS): 47% (n=206), lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL)/Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia (WM): 30% (n=132), non-LPL lymphoma: 6% (n=28), AL amyloidosis: 4% (n=19), CLL: 4% (n=18), cryoglobulinemia: 2% (n=10), multiple myeloma: 2% (n=9) and other: 0.5% (n=2) Glycosylation was present in 7% (31/438) of patients in this cohort. Glycosylation was significantly more prevalent in patients with CAD than other IgM gammopathies (64% vs. 5%, p &lt;0.001). CAD was present in 29% of patients with glycosylation and in only 1% of patients without glycosylation, p&lt;0.001. Disease characteristics of patients with CAD, including patients with and without glycosylated LCs are listed in Table 1. No statistically significant differences were observed in the features of CAD patients with and without glycosylation, though sample size was small. All patients (100%) had IgM kappa monoclonal protein. Median M-spike was 0.5 g/dL. The associated disorder was IgM MGUS in 50% of patients, LPL/WM in 29%, marginal zone lymphoma in 14% and a non-specific B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder in 7% of patients. Median hemoglobin was 11.2 g/dL. All patients had characteristic RBC agglutination on peripheral smear. Elevated LDH and undetectable haptoglobin were seen in 100% of patients. Cold agglutinin titer was positive (&gt;1:64) in 12 of 13 patients (85%) in whom it was tested. The remaining patient had a titer of 1:8. Polyspecific Coombs test/direct antiglobin test (DAT) was positive in 100% of patients (n=12 tested) and all patients who were tested with monospecific DAT had an antiC3 antibody (n=10). One patient also had monospecific anti IgG antibody. Transfusions were needed in 21% of patients. Other clinical manifestations included acrocyanosis in 43% (n=6) and Raynaud's phenomenon in 50% (n=7) of patients, respectively. Treatment for CAD included rituximab with or without steroids in 50% (n=7) of patients, rituximab-based chemotherapy in 29% (n=4) of patients, with observation alone in 21% (n=3) of patients. Conclusions: Modification of the IgM immunoglobulin structure by post-translational glycosylation of LCs was significantly more common in patients with CAD compared with other IgM monoclonal gammopathies (64% vs. 5%, p &lt;0.001). CAD was seen in only 1% of patients without glycosylation, while one-third of patients with glycosylation had CAD. This is a novel finding. As MASS FIX is now routinely done for detection of monoclonal proteins at our institution, the presence of LC glycosylation can provide diagnostic clues and can be a potential therapeutic target in the future. Future studies in larger, independent cohorts of patients are needed to confirm these findings. *SS & DLM contributed equally Disclosures Murray: The Binding Site: Patents & Royalties: US Patent Rights on Mass Spectroscopy Licensing agreement with The Binding Site, Research Funding. Dasari:The Binding Site: Patents & Royalties: US Patent Rights on Mass Spectroscopy Licensing agreement with The Binding Site, Research Funding. Kumar:Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding. Dispenzieri:Janssen: Consultancy; Pfizer: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Alnylam: Research Funding; Intellia: Consultancy; Akcea: Consultancy. Gertz:Spectrum: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Prothena: Honoraria; Ionis: Honoraria; Alnylam: Honoraria.