Advances in basic and clinical immunology in 2013

A significant number of contributions to our understanding of primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs) in pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment were published in the Journal in 2013. For example, deficiency of mast cell degranulation caused by signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 deficiency was demonstrated to contribute to the difference in the frequency of severe allergic reactions in patients with autosomal dominant hyper-IgE syndrome compared with that seen in atopic subjects with similar high IgE serum levels. High levels of nonglycosylated IgA were found in patients with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, and these abnormal antibodies might contribute to the nephropathy seen in these patients. New described genes causing immunodeficiency included caspase recruitment domain 11 (CARD11), mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue 1 (MALT1) for combined immunodeficiencies, and tetratricopeptide repeat domain 7A (TTC7A) for mutations associated with multiple atresia with combined immunodeficiency. Other observations expand the spectrum of clinical presentation of specific gene defects (eg, adult-onset idiopathic T-cell lymphopenia and early-onset autoimmunity might be due to hypomorphic mutations of the recombination-activating genes). Newborn screening in California established the incidence of severe combined immunodeficiency at 1 in 66,250 live births. The use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for PIDs was reviewed, with recommendations to give priority to research oriented to establish the best regimens to improve the safety and efficacy of bone marrow transplantation. These represent only a fraction of significant research done in patients with PIDs that has accelerated the quality of care of these patients. Genetic analysis of patients has demonstrated multiple phenotypic expressions of immune deficiency in patients with nearly identical genotypes, suggesting that additional genetic factors, possibly gene dosage, or environmental factors are responsible for this diversity.