Precision Medicine As Treatment for Primary Immu- Nodeficiency and Immune Dysregulation
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Archive of SID Immunology and Genetics Journal Received: 19 October 2019 Accepted: 24 November 2019 Review Article Published online: 22 December 2019 Doi: 10.22034/igj.2019.206436.1026 Precision Medicine as Treatment for Primary Immu- nodeficiency and Immune Dysregulation Rodrigo Hoyos-Bachiloglu1, Craig D. Platt2* 1 Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology,Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile 2 Division of Immunology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA Abstract “Precision medicine” is the use of therapy that targets the molecular basis of a patient’s disease process. This approach is increasingly well-established in treatment of monogenic disorders of immunity, in- cluding primary immunodeficiencies and primary immune regulatory disorders. This is due to the exquisite detail with which many immune pathways have been defined, and the wide variety of immune modulatory medications that target these pathways. Here we review many of the most effective uses of this approach and suggest a framework for classifying these strategies. Keywords Precision medicine, Targeted therapy, Primary immunodeficiency disease, immune dys- regulation. * Corresponding author: Craig D. Platt E-mail: [email protected] 1. Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology,Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile2. Division of Immunology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA Introduction large and increasing repertoire of immune mod- Widespread availability of “next generation” se- ulatory medications, many designed for treating quencing techniques, including targeted sequenc- common autoimmune diseases, are available ing panels and whole exome sequencing has for use as targeted therapies. In this review, we ushered in an era where monogenic causes of im- present a framework for classifying “precision munodeficiency and immune dysregulation can medicine” strategies in hopes that this will aid be determined with speed and precision. When in understanding the use of these therapies and the mechanistic basis of the disease is known, a will assist the rational design of novel targeted therapies. The precision medicine strategies dis- www.SID.ir Hoyos-Bachiloglu, D. Platt Precision Medicine for PID Archive of SID cussed below fall into one of three categories: mune thrombocytopenic purpura and chronic in- 1) replacement of “missing molecules,” 2) inhi- flammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, but bition of overactive intracellular signaling path- is used off-label for many more autoimmune and ways, and 3) cytokine blockade. inflammatory conditions (3). IVIG does not mod- ulate immune function through a single defined Replacement of “missing molecules” mechanism. Just a few of the proposed mecha- Monogenic defects frequently cause disease nisms include 1) blockade of Fc receptors on through disruption of the expression or function macrophages of the reticuloendothelial system, of a protein gene product. The simplest form of 2) blockade of adhesion molecules on leuko- precision medicine, infusion of the “missing mol- cytes, 3) saturation of FcRn receptors to enhance ecule” is not possible for the vast majority of dis- clearance of autoantibodies and 4) induction of orders, considering that the precise localization signaling through inhibitory FcγRIIB receptors of receptors, signaling molecules and other cel- on effector macrophages (4). lular components is typically necessary for their effective function. We discuss several notable Use of PEG-ADA in adenosine deami- exceptions below, where treatment involves sup- nase deficiency SCID plementation of defective pathways though infu- In 1972, Dr. Eloise Giblett and colleagues report- sion of WT proteins. (Note that gene therapy and ed two unrelated females with SCID who had no gene editing approaches are outside of the scope detectable adenosine-deaminase enzyme activity of this review, though in principle, these are the in their red blood-cells (5). A causal mechanism ultimate realization of this strategy). between ADA deficiency and defective lympho- Use of IVIG for antibody deficiency cyte function was defined, the first time that the Precision medicine was arguably part of the prac- molecular basis for immunodeficiency had been tice of clinical immunology since the earliest described. Later work elucidated that ADA de- days of the field. In the same report that Ogden ficiency is a disorder of purine metabolism that Bruton described agammaglobulinemia in an 8 leads to accumulation of toxic metabolites that year-old boy with recurrent pneumococcal sepsis, induces lymphocyte death and thymic dysfunc- otitis media, and pneumonia, he described effec- tion (6). tive treatment by replacing the patient’s missing In 1987, Hershfield et al. described intramuscu- IgG with subcutaneous immunoglobulin replace- lar infusion of bovine-derived ADA derived conju- ment (1). Modern immunoglobulin preparations, gated to polyethylene glycol (PEG-ADA) to treat purified and pooled from thousands of donors, a patient with ADA deficiency (7). This was the are routinely used for patients with antibody de- basis for an FDA-approved treatment for ADA- ficiency. Administered via intravenous or subcu- SCID through enzyme replacement. Weekly or taneous infusion, immunoglobulin replacement twice-weekly intramuscular injection of PEG-ADA provides levels of serum IgG comparable to those leads to sufficient plasma ADA levels to allow sur- from healthy subjects (2). This is remarkably ef- vival of lymphocyte progenitors and may also pro- fective at reducing rate of sinopulmonary infec- tect some ADA-deficient patients from hepatic and tions and preventing long-term complications neurologic dysfunction (8, 9). such as bronchiectasis (2). While not a form of Approximately 80% of patients have a signifi- precision medicine, it should be noted that IVIG cant response to enzyme replacement within 2-4 is also widely used for its immune modulatory months, including protection against opportunistic properties. It is FDA-approved for use in im- and life-threatening infections (9). Lymphocyte www.SID.ir www.igjournal.ir 9 Immunol Genet J (2019) 2(4):8-22 Precision Medicine for PID Hoyos-Bachiloglu, D. Platt Archive of SID number and function, however, rarely return to nor- mune dysregulation including lymphoproliferation, mal levels. Even among patients with an initially immune-mediated cytopenias, enteropathy, and en- robust response, a gradual decline in lymphocyte docrinopathies (16). As reduced CTLA-4 surface counts and function can be seen over time (9). This expression on T cells underlies the pathology in is in contrast to data from patients who have re- these disorders, infusion of CTLA-4 Ig (abatacept), ceived HSCT or gene therapy where available data a medication FDA approved for rheumatoid arthri- describes long-term stability of lymphocyte func- tis, has proven an incredibly powerful approach, as tion.10 While not a definitive treatment strategy, discussed further below. for patients without immediate access to such treat- When LRBA deficiency was discovered in 2012 ments, PEG-ADA enzyme replacement remains a through whole exome sequencing, the molecular potentially life-saving tool. mechanism of the disorder was not immediately PEG-ADA enzyme replacement therapy is unique clear (17, 18). However, in a seminal 2015 paper, among the precision therapies described in this re- Lo et al. described dramatic clinical improvement view as it is a true “orphan drug,” developed to treat in three LRBA-deficient patients treated with aba- the small population of patients with ADA defi- tacept (13). Patients demonstrated rapid improve- ciency and of no utility to patients with other forms ment in lung pathology as revealed by computed of SCID or immune dysregulation (8). Like other CT scan and pulmonary function testing, improve- orphan drugs, the cost is quite high, which limits ment or resolution of inflammatory and/or autoim- availability in resource-poor countries or in patients mune conditions, and normalization of biomarkers without access to high quality health insurance. of T cell dysregulation including soluble CD25 and With such medications, there is little likelihood of percentage of peripheral naïve T cells. This initially decreasing costs over time as there is no possibility unexpected response to abatacept led to the finding of scaling up production or competition from gener- that LRBA acts as a chaperone that directs intracel- ic or biosimilar products (11). lular trafficking of CTLA-4 to the cell surface, pre- venting lysosomal degradation (13). Abatacept to treat CLTA-4 Haploinsuf- A recent report has examined the long-term effica- ficiency and LRBA deficiency cy of abatacept in 18 patients with LRBA deficien- Cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) is a cy (19). In 16 of these patients there was substantial critical T cell inhibitory molecule present on ac- long-term improvement. There was near complete tivated T cells and regulatory T cells (Tregs) that control of lymphoproliferation and chronic diar- restrains immune responses by interfering with rhea, as well as significant improvement in autoim- T cell costimulation by antigen presenting cells. mune cytopenias. Two biomarkers of disease ac- The inhibitory properties of this molecule are due tivity, soluble CD25 and percentage of peripheral to its ability to block interaction of CD28 on T regulatory T cells, correlated well with response