Assessment of Iron Overload in a Cohort of Sri Lankan Patients with Transfusion Dependent Beta Thalassaemia and its Correlation with Pathogenic Variants in HBB, HFE, SLC40A1, and TFR2 Genes

Author(s):  
Ruwangi Dissanayake ◽  
Nayana Samarasinghe ◽  
Samantha Waidyanatha ◽  
Sajeewani Pathirana ◽  
Vajira HW Dissanayake ◽  
...  

Abstract Background. Iron overload (IO) is a complication in transfusion dependent beta thalassaemmia (TDT). Pathogenic variants in genes involving iron metabolism may confer increased risk of IO. The objective of this study was to determine the magnitude of the cardiac and hepatic IO and determine whether pathogenic variants in HFE, SLC40A1 and TFR2 genes increase the risk of IO in a cohort of TDT patients in Sri Lanka.Materials and Methods. Fifty-seven (57) patients with TDT were recruited for this study. Serum ferritin was done once in 3 months for one year in all. Those who were ≥ 8 years of age underwent T2* MRI of the liver and heart. Fifty-two (52) patients underwent next generation sequencing (NGS) to identify pathogenic variants in HBB, HFE, SLC40A1 and TFR2 genes.Results. The mean age (SD) of this cohort was 9.5 (±4.6) years. It comprised of 30 (52.6%) boys and 27 (47.4%) girls. The mean serum ferritin was 3405 (±2670.5) ng/dl. Hepatic IO was seen in 38 (95%) patients and cardiac IO was seen in 17 (42.5%) patients. All patients with cardiac IO were asymptomatic and had normal echocardiogrammes. There was no statistically significant correlation between serum ferritin and hepatic or cardiac IO.32 (61.5%), 18 (34.6%), 2 (3.8%) of patients were homozygotes, compound heterozygotes and heterozygotes for pathogenic variants in the HBB gene. 9 (17.3%) and 3 (5.8%) patients were heterozygotes for pathogenic variants of HFE and SLC40A1 genes respectively. There were no pathogenic variants for the TfR2 gene. The heterozygotes of the pathogenic variants of the HFE and SLC40A1 genes were not at increased risk of IO.Conclusions. Cardiac T2* MRI helps to detect cardiac IO prior to the onset of symptoms when the echocardiogramme is normal. It is important to perform hepatic and cardiac MRI T2* to detect IO in patients with TDT.

Author(s):  
Alaa Mutter Jabur Al-Shibany ◽  
AalanHadi AL-Zamili

Patients with transfusion dependent thalassemia major is often associated with iron overload. Proper use of iron chelators to treat iron overload requires an accurate measurement of iron levels. Magnetic resonance T2-star (T2* MRI) is the preferred method to measure iron level in the liver andthe heart. The goal of our study was to see if there is an association exists between serum ferritin level and T2* MRI results in patients with beta thalassemia major.This study was done in Al-Diwaniya Thalassemia center,Maternity and children teaching hospital,Iraq. During the period from 1st of January to 31st of October. Fifty eight patients with a diagnosis of beta thalassemia major were enrolled in the study. They were older than five years old,transfusion dependent and on chelation therapy. Hepatic and Myocardial T2*MRI and the mean serum ferritin levels were measured during the study period for all patients.There is a significant correlation was observed between serum ferritin level and cardiac T2*MRI (p=0.018 ). also a significant correlation was observed between serum ferritin and hepatic T2*MRI (p=0.02). Neither cardiac T2* MRI nor hepatic T2* MRI show any correlation with the mean age.our study also showa positive correlation between the patients withcardiac T2* MRI and the development of diabetes mellitus in contrast to hepatic T2* MRI in which there is no any correlation. Hypothyroidism was observedno correlation with either cardiac or hepatic T2* MRI.Our results showed a positiveassociation between hepatic, cardiac T2*MRI and serum ferritin levels.


Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Valeria D’Argenio ◽  
Federica Cariati ◽  
Rossella Tomaiuolo

The current diagnostic path of infertile couples is long lasting and often ineffective. Genetic tests, in particular, appear as a limiting step due to their jeopardized use on one side, and to the limited number of genes evaluated on the other. In this context, the development and diffusion, also in routine diagnostic settings, of next generation sequencing (NGS)-based methods for the analyses of several genes in multiple subjects at a time is improving the diagnostic sensitivity of molecular analyses. Thus, we developed One4Two®, a custom NGS panel to optimize the diagnostic journey of infertile couples. The panel validation was carried out in three steps analyzing a total of 83 subjects. Interestingly, all the previously identified variants were confirmed, assessing the analytic sensitivity of the method. Moreover, additional pathogenic variants have been identified underlying the diagnostic efficacy of the proposed method. One4Two® allows the simultaneous analysis of infertility-related genes, disease-genes of common inherited diseases, and of polymorphisms related to therapy outcome. Thus, One4Two® is able to improve the diagnostic journey of infertile couples by simplifying the whole process not only for patients, but also for laboratories and reproduction specialists moving toward an even more personalized medicine.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Loza ◽  
A. Irmejs ◽  
Z. Daneberga ◽  
E. Miklasevics ◽  
E. Berga-Svitina ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Several recent studies in the Baltic region have found extended spectrum of pathogenic variants (PV) of the BRCA1/2 genes. The aim of current study is to analyze the spectrum of the BRCA1/2 PV in population of Latvia and to compare common PV between populations of the Baltic region. Methods We present a cohort of 9543 unrelated individuals including ones with cancer and unaffected individuals from population of Latvia, who were tested for three most common BRCA1 founder PV. In second line testing, 164 founder negative high-risk individuals were tested for PV of the BRCA1/2 using next generation sequencing (NGS). Local spectrum of the BRCA1/2 PV was compared with the Baltic region by performing a literature review. Results Founder PV c.5266dupC, c.4035delA or c.181 T > G was detected in 369/9543 (3.9%) cases. Other BRCA1/2 PV were found in 44/164 (26.8%) of NGS cases. Four recurrent BRCA1 variants c.5117G > A (p.Gly1706Glu), c.4675G > A (p.Glu1559Lys), c.5503C > T (p.Arg1835*) and c.1961delA (p.Lys654fs) were detected in 18/44 (41.0%), 5/44 (11.4%), 2/44 (4.5%) and 2/44 (4.5%) cases respectively. Additionally, 11 BRCA1 PV and six BRCA2 PV were each found in single family. Conclusions By combining three studies by our group of the same cohort in Latvia, frequency of the BRCA1/2 PV for unselected breast and ovarian cancer cases is 241/5060 (4.8%) and 162/1067 (15.2%) respectively. The frequency of three “historical” founder PV is up to 87.0% (369/424). Other non-founder PV contribute to at least 13.0% (55/424) and this proportion probably will rise by increasing numbers of the BRCA1/2 sequencing. In relative numbers, c.5117G > A is currently the third most frequent PV of the BRCA1 in population of Latvia, overcoming previously known third most common founder variant c.181 T > G. In addition to three BRCA1 founder PV, a total of five recurrent BRCA1 and two recurrent BRCA2 PV have been reported in population of Latvia so far. Many of the BRCA1/2 PV reported in Latvia are shared among other populations of the Baltic region.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1290
Author(s):  
Jennifer S. Winn ◽  
Zachary Hasse ◽  
Michael Slifker ◽  
Jianming Pei ◽  
Sebastian M. Arisi-Fernandez ◽  
...  

We studied genomic alterations in 19 inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) patients with advanced disease using samples of tissue and paired blood serum or plasma (cell-free DNA, cfDNA) by targeted next generation sequencing (NGS). At diagnosis, the disease was triple negative (TN) in eleven patients (57.8%), ER+ Her2- IBC in six patients (31.6%), ER+ Her2+ IBC in one patient (5.3%), and ER- Her2+ IBC in one other patient (5.3%). Pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants were frequently detected in TP53 (47.3%), PMS2 (26.3%), MRE11 (26.3%), RB1 (10.5%), BRCA1 (10.5%), PTEN (10.5%) and AR (10.5%); other affected genes included PMS1, KMT2C, BRCA2, PALB2, MUTYH, MEN1, MSH2, CHEK2, NCOR1, PIK3CA, ESR1 and MAP2K4. In 15 of the 19 patients in which tissue and paired blood were collected at the same time point, 80% of the variants detected in tissue were also detected in the paired cfDNA. Higher concordance between tissue and cfDNA was found for variants with higher allele fraction in tissue (AFtissue ≥ 5%). Furthermore, 86% of the variants detected in cfDNA were also detected in paired tissue. Our study suggests that the genetic profile measured in blood cfDNA is complementary to that of tumor tissue in IBC patients.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. S6
Author(s):  
Vinay Munikoty ◽  
Deepak Bansal ◽  
Kushaljit Singh Sodhi ◽  
Anmol Bhatia ◽  
Prateek Bhatia ◽  
...  

Genes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lama Jaffal ◽  
Wissam H Joumaa ◽  
Alexandre Assi ◽  
Charles Helou ◽  
George Cherfan ◽  
...  

Aim: To identify disease-causing mutations in four Lebanese families: three families with Bardet–Biedl and one family with Usher syndrome (BBS and USH respectively), using next generation sequencing (NGS). Methods: We applied targeted NGS in two families and whole exome sequencing (WES) in two other families. Pathogenicity of candidate mutations was evaluated according to frequency, conservation, in silico prediction tools, segregation with disease, and compatibility with inheritance pattern. The presence of pathogenic variants was confirmed via Sanger sequencing followed by segregation analysis. Results: Most likely disease-causing mutations were identified in all included patients. In BBS patients, we found (M1): c.2258A > T, p. (Glu753Val) in BBS9, (M2): c.68T > C; p. (Leu23Pro) in ARL6, (M3): c.265_266delTT; p. (Leu89Valfs*11) and (M4): c.880T > G; p. (Tyr294Asp) in BBS12. A previously known variant (M5): c.551A > G; p. (Asp184Ser) was also detected in BBS5. In the USH patient, we found (M6): c.188A > C, p. (Tyr63Ser) in CLRN1. M2, M3, M4, and M6 were novel. All of the candidate mutations were shown to be likely disease-causing through our bioinformatic analysis. They also segregated with the corresponding phenotype in available family members. Conclusion: This study expanded the mutational spectrum and showed the genetic diversity of BBS and USH. It also spotlighted the efficiency of NGS techniques in revealing mutations underlying clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders.


Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 1331-1331
Author(s):  
Victoria J Tindell ◽  
Victoria T Potter ◽  
Rachel Kesse-Adu ◽  
Laura Reiff-Zall ◽  
Aloysius Y Ho ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 1331 Several groups have identified iron overload, in terms of raised pre-transplant serum ferritin levels, as an independent adverse prognostic factor for patients undergoing myeloablative HSCT. While serum ferritin has been used as a common marker in clinical studies to evaluate the impact of iron overload following allogeneic transplantation, there are limitations to its use with it being an acute phase reactant, as well as its lack of specificity for predicting end-organ toxicities. Patients undergoing HSCT for bone marrow failure (BMF) syndromes usually have a significant red cell transfusion history, and although the majority of these patients receive non-myeloablative HSCT regimens, it is unclear as to the impact of iron overload in these patients on subsequent transplant outcomes. In order to address these questions, we performed a prospective study evaluating the pre-transplant serum ferritin together with concurrent T2* cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and R2 liver MRI in 18 patients with BMF syndromes undergoing allogeneic HSCT. The diagnosis of the patients included MDS (RCMD/hypoplastic MDS) =10, acquired aplastic anaemia =7, fanconi anaemia =1. The median age of the patients at transplantation was 42 years, and all patients received a T-cell depleted non-myeloablative HSCT. All patients were transfusion dependent pre-HSCT, with a median number of red cell transfusions of 45 (range: 8–115). Pre-HSCT ferritin was performed within 2 weeks of HSCT, and the results were correlated with albumin and C-reactive protein to reduce the impact of ferritin as an acute phase reactant. T2* and R2 MRI were similarly performed within 2 weeks of HSCT. The median pre-HSCT ferritin was significantly raised at 2119 ug/l(range: 559–12235). In contrast, the T2* cardiac MRI was normal for all but one patient who had evidence of mild cardiac iron overload. All patients had a corresponding cardiac echocardiogram performed with an ejection fraction within normal limits. For the liver T2* MRI, 7 patients had evidence of none or mild hepatic iron overload, while 11 patients had moderate to severe iron overload. There was no correlation between pre-HSCT transfusion burden and serum ferritin levels. Furthermore, there was no correlation between either the transfusion burden or serum ferritin, and the T2*MRI readings. In terms of HSCT outcome, the median time to neutrophil engraftment was 14 days. 2 patients had primary graft failure and only 1 patient died within 100 days due to an intra-cerebral haemorrhage. No patients had any clinical features of hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD), and 5 patients had evidence of grade I-II acute grade versus-host-disease. Data were also collected on the incidence of bacterial, fungal and viral infections post-HSCT for the cohort. There was however no significant association between transfusion burden, serum ferritin or T2* imaging and any of the HSCT outcomes (engraftment/day 100 TRM, GvHD, VOD or infections). In the context of heavily transfused BMF patients receiving allogeneic HSCT, serum ferritin does not correlate with end-organ deposition of iron. Despite the high transfusion burden in our cohort of patients, cardiac deposition of iron appears minimal while hepatic iron deposition is significant in a large proportion of patients. Reassuringly, a raised iron overload by either of the above mentioned parameters had no effect on HSCT outcomes. Our findings highlight the limitations of using serum ferritin as a marker of iron overload pre-HSCT. The role of active pre-HSCT chelation of BMF patients receiving non-myeloablative HSCT regimens remains unclear, and further studies are warranted. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 3453-3453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart L Goldberg ◽  
Marc Elmann ◽  
Mark Kaminetzky ◽  
Eriene-Heidi Sidhom ◽  
Anthony R Mato ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 3453 Individuals undergoing allogeneic transplantation receive multiple red blood cell transfusions both as part of the transplant procedure and as part of the pre-transplant care of the underlying disease. Therefore these patients may be at risk for complications of transfusional iron overload. Several studies have noted that individuals entering the transplant with baseline elevated serum ferritin values have decreased overall survival and higher rates of disease relapse. Whether the iron is a direct contributor to inferior outcomes or is a marker of more advanced disease (thereby requiring greater transfusions) is unclear. Little is known about the incidence and consequences of iron overload among long-term survivors of allogeneic transplantation. Methods: Using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses, we performed a single center, retrospective cohort study of consecutive allogeneic transplants performed at Hackensack University Medical Center from January 2002 through June 30, 2009 to determine the association between serum ferritin (measured approximately 1 yr post allogeneic transplant) and overall survival. Results: During the study time frame, 637 allogeneic transplants (Donor Lymphocyte Infusion procedures excluded) were performed at our center and 342 (54%) survived ≥ one year. Among 1-year survivors 240 (70%) had post-transplant serum ferritin values available for review, including 132 (55%) allogeneic sibling, 68 (28%) matched unrelated, and 40 (17%) mismatched unrelated donor transplants. The median post-transplant ferritin value among 1-year survivors of allogeneic transplant was 628 ng/ml (95% CI 17, 5010), with 93 (39%) above 1000 ng/ml and 40 (17%) above 2500 ng/ml. The median post-transplant ferritin levels varied by underlying hematologic disease (aplastic anemia = 1147, acute leukemia = 1067, MDS = 944, CLL = 297, CML = 219, lymphoma = 123, multiple myeloma = 90). The Kaplan-Meier projected 5-year survival rate was 76% for the cohort that had survived one year and had available ferritin values. Fifty late deaths have occurred; causes of late death were disease relapse (n=37, 74%), GVHD (n=7, 14%), infection (n=4, 8%), cardiac (n=1, 2%) and second malignancy (n=1, 2%). The 1-year post-transplant serum ferritin value was a significant predictor of long term survival. Using a cut-off ferritin value of 1000 ng/ml, the 5-year projected survivals were 85% (95 CI 75%-91%) and 64% (95% CI 52–73%) for the low and high ferritin cohorts respectively (Figure, log-rank p<0.001), with a hazard ratio of 3.5 (95% CI 2–6.4, p<0.001). Similarly a serum ferritin value >2500 ng/ml was associated with inferior survival (HR 2.97, p<0.001). Underlying hematologic disease also correlated with 5-year projected survival including 70%, 83%, and 89% for acute leukemia/MDS, lymphoma/myeloma/CLL, and aplastic anemia/CML groupings, respectively (log-rank p<0.01 for leukemia/MDS vs other groupings). Patients receiving bone marrow grafts did better than those receiving peripheral blood stem cells (HR = 2.2; p = 0.03). Age, gender, donor type (sibling, matched unrelated, mismatch unrelated) and intensity of regimen (ablative vs. non-myeloablative) were not predictive of inferior survival in univariate analysis. In the multivariate Cox-regression analysis, elevated post-transplant ferritin >1000 ng/ml (HR 3.3, 95%CI 1.6–6.1; p<0.001) and diagnosis of acute leukemia/MDS (HR 4.5, 95%CI 1.1–18.7; p=0.04) remained independent predictors of inferior survival, even when adjusted for age, gender, type of graft, donor type, and intensity of conditioning regimen. Relapse deaths (25% vs. 9%; p<0.001) and GVHD deaths (6% vs 0.6%; p=0.03) were more common in the high ferritin cohort. Conclusions: Among patients who have survived one-year following allogeneic transplantation, a post-transplant serum ferritin value greater than 1000 ng/ml is a predictor of inferior long-term outcomes. To our knowledge this is the first report on the importance of late monitoring of serum ferritin, but it is in agreement with prior studies suggesting a pre-transplant ferritin value is a predictor of outcomes. Prospective studies attempting to modify outcomes by reducing post-transplant iron overload states are needed. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 1021-1021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khaled M Musallam ◽  
Maria D Cappellini ◽  
Shahina Daar ◽  
Mehran Karimi ◽  
Amal El-Beshlawy ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 1021 Background: An association between iron overload and morbidity in patients with β-thalassemia intermedia (TI) has been established. However, available studies relied on cross-sectional analysis (measures of prevalence rather than incidence) without a clear chronological relationship between risk factors and outcomes. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of TI patients treated at five comprehensive care centers in Italy, Lebanon, Oman, Iran and Egypt. We included all patients attending the centers since 01 January 2000 and regularly followed until 31 December 2009 or death. For each patient, we retrieved serum ferritin (SF) and total hemoglobin (Hb) levels for every year during the 10-year follow up period, and calculated the average SF and total Hb levels during the study period (10-year indices). Moreover, we retrieved data on the incidence of nine pre-defined morbidities during the study period. Data on splenectomy status was also retrieved. For this preliminary study, we analyzed data from the first 52 recruited patients. None of the patients were regularly transfused or iron chelated during the study period. Results: The mean age of patients at study entry was 24.1 ± 11.3 years with 48.1% of patients being males. Thirty (57.7%) patients were splenectomized. The mean SF-index was 714.3 ± 518.7 ng/ml (range: 38.4 to 1926.2 ng/ml) and the mean Hb-index was 8.9 ± 1.2 g/dl (range: 7–12 g/dl). None of the patients died during the study period. Thirty-six patients experienced a morbidity during the study period, giving a 10-year cumulative incidence of 69.2% (19 [36.5%] had a single morbidity while 17 [32.7%] had multiple morbidities). The most common morbidity was osteoporosis (48.1%) followed by extramedullary hematopoiesis (19.2%), liver disease (17.3%), hypothyroidism (9.6%), diabetes mellitus (7.7%), hypogonadism (7.7%), thrombosis (5.8%), pulmonary hypertension (1.9%), and hypoparathyroidism (1.9%). The mean SF-index was higher in patients who developed morbidity than those who did not (877.5 vs. 346.9 ng/ml, p<0.001). There was also a positive correlation between SF-index and the number of developed morbidities (r=0.507, p<0.001). On logistic regression analysis, the association between SF-index and the development of morbidity remained significant upon adjustment for age, sex, splenectomy and Hb-index (p=0.015). SF-index had a strong predictive power for morbidity (Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve=0.816 ± 0.059, p<0.001). We also evaluated effect estimates for the development of morbidity for three SF-index thresholds, of clinical interest and representing quartile cut-offs. The relative risk of morbidity for patients with a SF-index of >300 ng/ml compared with ≤300 ng/ml was 8.00 (95% CI: 1.92 to 33.38); while it was 14.00 (95% CI: 2.73 to 71.86) for patients with a SF-index of >600 ng/ml compared with ≤600 ng/ml. The effect estimate for the >1000 ng/ml threshold was non-estimable (all patients with a SF-index of >1000 ng/ml developed a morbidity). Conclusion: There exists a clear association between elevations in SF level and an increased risk of morbidity in TI patients, further supporting the need for iron chelation therapy in this patient population. The relative risk becomes considerably high for increases beyond 300 ng/ml. Disclosures: Musallam: Novartis Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria. Cappellini:Novartis Pharmaceuticals: Speakers Bureau. Taher:Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 5177-5177
Author(s):  
Antonella Meloni ◽  
Daniele De Marchi ◽  
Vincenzo Positano ◽  
Gaetano Giuffrida ◽  
Sabrina Armari ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 5177 Background. Renal dysfunction has been reported in adult subjects with thalassemia major (TM) since 1975. One of the main cause is the iron overload consequent to regular transfusions. Multiecho T2* MRI is a well-established technique for cardiac and hepatic iron overload assessment, but there very few report concerning the kidneys. The aims of this study were to describe the T2* values of the kidneys in patients with TM, to investigate the correlation between renal and myocardial or hepatic siderosis and biventricular cardiac function. Methods. 119 TM patients (58 men, 30. 7 ± 8. 2 years) enrolled in the Myocardial Iron Overload (MIOT) networks underwent MRI. For the measurement of iron overload, multiecho T2* sequences were used. The left ventricle was segmented into a 16-segments standardized model and the T2* value on each segment was calculated as well as the global value. In the liver, the T2* value was assessed in a single region of interest (ROI) in a homogeneous area of the parenchyma. For each kidney, T2* values were calculated in three different ROIs and were averaged to obtain a representative value for the kidney. The mean T2* value over the kidneys was also calculated. Cine images were obtained to quantify biventricular morphological and functional parameters in a standard way. Results. T2* values in the right kidney were significant lower than in the left kidney (40. 3±11. 9 ms vs 44. 1±12. 7 ms, P<0. 0001). The mean T2* value over the kidneys was 42. 2±11. 9 ms and 40 patients (33. 6%) had a pathological value (T2*<36 ms, lower limit of normal evaluated on 20 healthy subjects). The mean T2* value did not show a significant difference amongst men ad women (43. 2±11. 7 ms versus 41. 3±12. 1 ms, P=0. 378). The mean T2* values increased with age in a significant manner (r=0. 321, P<0. 0001). There was a significant negative correlation between serum ferritin levels and mean renal T2* values (r=-0. 446, P<0. 0001). Significant positive correlations of the mean T2* values were demonstrated for liver (r=0. 511, P<0. 0001) and global heart (r=0. 262, P=0. 004) T2* values (Figure 1). No correlation was found between renal iron overload and bi-ventricular function parameters. Conclusions. Systemic T2* differences between left and right kidneys were found, with significant lower values in the right one. Mean T2* value increased with age. We confirmed that kidney iron deposition was not very common in TM, but it was correlated with iron deposition in liver and heart. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


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