Bare lymphocyte syndrome
| Bare lymphocyte syndrome | |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Hematology  |
Bare lymphocyte syndrome is a condition caused by mutations in certain genes of the major histocompatibility complex or involved with the processing and presentation of MHC molecules. It is a form of severe combined immunodeficiency.[1]
Classification
- Type 1: MHC class I
- Type 2: MHC class II
Presentation
The bare lymphocyte syndrome, type II (BLS II) is a rare recessive genetic condition in which a group of genes called major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC class II) are not expressed.
The result is that the immune system is severely compromised and cannot effectively fight infection. Clinically, this is similar to severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), in which lymphocyte precursor cells are improperly formed.
Diarrhea can be among the associated conditions.[2]
Genetics
BLS II
The genetic basis for BLSII is not due to defects in the MHC II genes themselves. The genetic basis is the result of mutations in genes that code for proteins (transcription factors) that normally regulate the expression (gene transcription) of the MHC II genes. That is, one of the several proteins that are required to switch on MHC II genes in various cells types (primarily those in the immune system) is absent. The genes responsible were cloned by the laboratories of Bernard Mach[3] in Switzerland and Jeremy Boss[4] at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mutation in any one of four genes can lead to BLS II. The genes' names are:
- class II trans-activator (CIITA)
- regulatory factor of the X box 5 (RFX5)
- RFX-associated protein (RFXAP)
- RFX ankyrin repeats (RFXANK; also known as RFXB)
BLS I
BLS I, also called "HLA class I deficiency", which is much more rare, is associated with TAP2, TAP1, or TAPBP.[5]
Treatment
Though BLSII is an attractive candidate for gene therapy, bone marrow transplant is currently the only treatment.
References
- ^ DeSandro AM, Nagarajan UM, Boss JM (September 2000). "Associations and interactions between bare lymphocyte syndrome factors". Mol. Cell. Biol. 20 (17): 6587–99. doi:10.1128/MCB.20.17.6587-6599.2000. PMC 86141. PMID 10938133.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Immunologic Disease and Disorders".
- ^ Reith W, Mach B (2001). "The bare lymphocyte syndrome and the regulation of MHC expression". Annu. Rev. Immunol. 19: 331–73. doi:10.1146/annurev.immunol.19.1.331. PMID 11244040.
- ^ DeSandro A, Nagarajan UM, Boss JM (1999). "The bare lymphocyte syndrome: molecular clues to the transcriptional regulation of major histocompatibility complex class II genes". Am. J. Hum. Genet. 65 (2): 279–86. doi:10.1086/302519. PMC 1377925. PMID 10417269.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM): 604571