Immunodeficiencies Flashcards
(125 cards)
Primary Immunodeficiencies:
Genetic mutation that may occur at any phase of the immune response [from danger recognition (TLRs) to synthesis of high affinity antibody (tetanus specific antibody)].
What are the most common types of Primary Immune Deficiencies (PID):
Antibody Deficiencies
Signs / Symptoms of Humoral Immunodeficiency:
- Pyogenic Infections (recurrent otitis media, sinusitis, pneumonia; cellulitis, osetomyelitis, meningitis); 2. Frequent viral infections; 3. Chronic diarrhea
How many infections are too many?
- More than 4 courses of antibiotics per year in children
- More that 2 courses of antibiotics per year in adults.
- More than 4 new ear infections in one year after age four.
- Pneumonia twice over any time.
- More than 3 episodes of bacterial sinusitis in one year or the occurrence of chronic sinusitis.
Agammaglobulinemias are caused by defects in WHAT
B Cell development
Formation of WHAT is defective in Agammaglobulinemia?
Germinal Center formation; associated with underdevelopment of lymphoid tissues, such as the lymph nodes, Peyer’s patches, spleen, tonsils and adenoids.
________ accounts for 85% of all agammaglobulinemias
X-linked agammaglobulinemia, also known as Bruton’s agammaglobulinemia
Boys or lyonized females with this condition have a defect in _______
B cell tyrosine kinase (BTK)
What is BTK?
BTK is associated with the pre-B cell receptor and is required for transducing signals from the pre-B cell receptor downstream that simulates B cell maturation.
Pre-B cell needs this enzyme to function for B cells to mature. Without it, can’t have mature B cells, no antibody production, etc.
Minor defects of other areas in this pathway can cause similar defects but generally less severe.
Describe the blood test results standard for a patient with X-linked Agammaglobulinemia:
- IgG usually <100 mg/dl
- B cells <2% of lymphocytes (usually 0.05-0.3%)
- Normal T cell number and function
Hyper IgM Syndromes:
- Defects in B cell isotype switching collectively lead to a group of disorders called the Hyper-IgM (HIGM) syndromes.
- Normal numbers of B cells, but express elevated levels of IgM with low IgG, IgE, and IgA.
IgA Deficiency:
Sometimes called “Selective IgA Deficiency”
Often asymptomatic.If you are symptomatic, might have recurrent diarrhea or autoimmune disease.
Only a subset of these people have NO IgA.
What are the blood test results of IgA Deficiency?
IgA <5-7 mg/dl
For patients with a severe IgA deficiency, why might there be a problem with administering IVIG?
F you have no IgA, this means you can produce antibodies against IgA, which can be bad and cause anaphylaxis.
Before giving any patients IVIG, should check IgA levels.
Usually the first dose of IVIG is in the hospital for any patient in case there is a reaction.
CVID (Common Variable Immunodeficiency):
Second most frequent PID in humans after IgA deficiency. Most prevalent PID in adults.
Characterized by recurrent infections (sinusitis most common, followed by pneumonia; life threatening infections)
What types of disorders are associated with CVID?
Granulomatous diseases, autoimmune disorders, splenomegaly, and certain malignancies (300x lymphoma risk of general population)
What are the serum levels of patients with CVID?
- Reduced serum IgG, IgA and/or IgM
- Absent or impaired specific antibody responses to previous infection or vaccination
What are the causes of CVID?
Unknown; causes of CVID have remained elusive with the genetic basis identified in less than a quarter of cases.
Specific Antibody Deficiency is characterized by what types of infections?
Recurrent sinopulmonary infections
What are the serum levels of Specific Antibody Deficiency patients?
Normal IgG, IgA, and IgM
Normal B cell number and normal T cell number and function
Impaired vaccine response
What is impaired in patients with Specific Antibody Deficiency?
- Impaired vaccine response (polysaccharide)
- Impaired antibody response to natural infection with encapsulated bacteria
How might you test to determine if a patient has CVID?
Check tetanus titer (or something everyone is vaccinated with) - if zero or very low, the patient haven’t been able to mount an antibody response
What is the mnemonic for encapsulated organisms?
Some Killers have Pretty Nice Capsules;
- Streptococcus pneumoniae & pyogenes
- Staph aureus
- Klebsiella
- Haemophilus influenzae
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Neisseria meningitidis
- Cryptococcus neoformans
–Mycoplasma
–Bordetella pertussis
–some E. coli
–Streptococcus agalactiae
–Yersinia pestis (F1 envelope)
Transient Hypogammaglobulinemia of Infancy:
Thought that in this case there is a delayed T cell maturation to help with priming/stimulating B cells to produce enough antibody. Onset around 6 months of age. Generally resolved around age 4.
Characterized by recurrent sinopulmonary infections.
