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Purpose Gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in the signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 ( STAT1 ) result in unbalanced STAT signaling and cause immune dysregulation and immunodeficiency. The latter is often characterized by the susceptibility to recurrent Candida infections, resulting in the clinical picture of chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis (CMC). This study aims to assess the frequency of GOF STAT1 mutations in a large international cohort of CMC patients. Methods STAT1 was sequenced in genomic DNA from 57 CMC patients and 35 healthy family members. The functional relevance of nine different STAT1 variants was shown by flow cytometric analysis of STAT1 phosphorylation in patients’ peripheral blood cells (PBMC) after stimulation with interferon (IFN)-α, IFN-γ or interleukin-27 respectively. Extended clinical data sets were collected and summarized for 26 patients. Results Heterozygous mutations within STAT1 were identified in 35 of 57 CMC patients (61 %). Out of 39 familial cases from 11 families, 26 patients (67 %) from 9 families and out of 18 sporadic cases, 9 patients (50 %) were shown to have heterozygous mutations within STAT1 . Thirteen distinct STAT1 mutations are reported in this paper. Eight of these mutations are known to cause CMC (p.M202V, p.A267V, p.R274W, p.R274Q, p.T385M, p.K388E, p.N397D, and p.F404Y). However, five STAT1 variants (p.F172L, p.Y287D, p.P293S, p.T385K and p.S466R) have not been reported before in CMC patients. Conclusion STAT1 mutations are frequently observed in patients suffering from CMC. Thus, sequence analysis of STAT1 in CMC patients is advised. Measurement of IFN- or IL-induced STAT1 phosphorylation in PBMC provides a fast and reliable diagnostic tool and should be carried out in addition to genetic testing.

Background Diagnosis of neonatal infection is difficult, because of it's non-specific clinical presentation and the lack of reliable diagnostic tests. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential diagnostic value of serum soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin), highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) measurements, both individually and in combination in the setting of a neonatal intensive care unit. Methods 219 consecutive serum samples were taken from 149 infants undergoing sepsis work up in a neonatal intensive care unit. Clinical diagnosis was established in a prospective manner, blind to the results of the study measurements. Infants were classified by an experienced paediatrician as infected or not-infected, one week after presentation. Classification was based on clinical presentation, routine laboratory and radiological investigations and response to therapy. The infected group were sub-classified as (a) culture positive infection or (b) culture negative infection. sICAM-1, sE-selectin, hsCRP and SAA levels were determined from stored serum samples after diagnosis was established. Further sub-group analysis of results was undertaken according to early or late onset of infection and preterm or term status. Statistical analysis utilised Mann Whitney U test and ROC curve analysis. Results There were significantly increased serum levels of sICAM-1, hsCRP, E selectin (p < 0.001) and SAA (p = 0.004) in infected infants compared with non-infected. ROC curve analysis indicated area under the curve values of 0.79 (sICAM-1), 0.73 (hsCRP), 0.72 (sE-selectin) and 0.61 (SAA). ROC curve analysis also defined optimum diagnostic cut-off levels for each measurement. The performance characteristics of sICAM-1, hsCRP and sE-selectin included a high negative predictive value (NPV) for culture positive infection and this was enhanced by combination of all 4 measurements. Clinical subgroup analysis suggested particularly high NPV for early onset symptoms, however further studies are required to elucidate this finding. Conclusions All four study measurements demonstrated some diagnostic value for neonatal infection however sICAM-1, hsCRP and sE-selectin demonstrated the highest NPV individually. The optimum diagnostic cut off level for hsCRP measurement in this study was much lower than currently used in routine clinical practice. Use of a combination of measurements enhanced diagnostic performance, demonstrating sensitivity of 90.3% and NPV of 91.3%. This study suggests there may be value in use of several of these markers, individually and in combination to assist in excluding neonatal infection. Further work is needed to confirm a specific role in the exclusion of early onset infection.

Hyperimmunoglobulin D and periodic fever syndrome (HIDS) is a rare, hereditary autoinflammatory condition, characterized by recurrent inflammatory episodes. There is no proven treatment for HIDS, but various drugs including, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, colchicine, steroids, statins and thalidomide have all been tried. Recently, some patients have demonstrated a good clinical response to either etanercept or anakinra. We report a case of a 10-year-old girl who experienced prolonged and severe inflammatory attacks, when she was treated with etanercept, and later with anakinra.

Most patients with rare diseases do not receive a molecular diagnosis and the aetiological variants and causative genes for more than half such disorders remain to be discovered . Here we used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in a national health system to streamline diagnosis and to discover unknown aetiological variants in the coding and non-coding regions of the genome. We generated WGS data for 13,037 participants, of whom 9,802 had a rare disease, and provided a genetic diagnosis to 1,138 of the 7,065 extensively phenotyped participants. We identified 95 Mendelian associations between genes and rare diseases, of which 11 have been discovered since 2015 and at least 79 are confirmed to be aetiological. By generating WGS data of UK Biobank participants , we found that rare alleles can explain the presence of some individuals in the tails of a quantitative trait for red blood cells. Finally, we identified four novel non-coding variants that cause disease through the disruption of transcription of ARPC1B, GATA1, LRBA and MPL. Our study demonstrates a synergy by using WGS for diagnosis and aetiological discovery in routine healthcare.

Activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) δ Syndrome (APDS), caused by autosomal dominant mutations in (APDS1) or (APDS2), is a heterogeneous primary immunodeficiency. While initial cohort-descriptions summarized the spectrum of clinical and immunological manifestations, questions about long-term disease evolution and response to therapy remain. The prospective European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID)-APDS registry aims to characterize the disease course, identify outcome predictors, and evaluate treatment responses. So far, 77 patients have been recruited (51 APDS1, 26 APDS2). Analysis of disease evolution in the first 68 patients pinpoints the early occurrence of recurrent respiratory infections followed by chronic lymphoproliferation, gastrointestinal manifestations, and cytopenias. Although most manifestations occur by age 15, adult-onset and asymptomatic courses were documented. Bronchiectasis was observed in 24/40 APDS1 patients who received a CT-scan compared with 4/15 APDS2 patients. By age 20, half of the patients had received at least one immunosuppressant, but 2-3 lines of immunosuppressive therapy were not unusual before age 10. Response to rapamycin was rated by physician visual analog scale as good in 10, moderate in 9, and poor in 7. Lymphoproliferation showed the best response (8 complete, 11 partial, 6 no remission), while bowel inflammation (3 complete, 3 partial, 9 no remission) and cytopenia (3 complete, 2 partial, 9 no remission) responded less well. Hence, non-lymphoproliferative manifestations should be a key target for novel therapies. This report from the ESID-APDS registry provides comprehensive baseline documentation for a growing cohort that will be followed prospectively to establish prognostic factors and identify patients for treatment studies.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.