Abstract
Background:
Patients with heterotaxy syndrome, commonly associated with complex congenital heart disease (CHD), exhibit a higher risk of severe bacterial infection (SBI). We sought to define the change of a novel immunologic marker, the immunoglobulin M (IgM) memory B-cell percentage, and its association with SBI.
Methods:
We enrolled 46 (M/F 29/17) heterotaxy syndrome patients (42 right atrial isomerism (RAI) and 4 left atrial isomerism (LAI)) aged > 1 y during the period 2010–2012 in a tertiary care center. We analyzed IgM+CD27+ memory B-cell percentages. Patients with simple and complex CHD served as controls.
Results:
The mean IgM memory B-cell percentages were the lowest in the heterotaxy syndrome group, compared with those in complex and simple CHD groups (1.8 ± 2.1 vs. 3.9 ± 3.2 vs. 5.1 ± 4.7, P < 0.001). In the heterotaxy syndrome group, 41.3% had low IgM memory B-cell percentages (<1% of B cells). Seven had a history of community-acquired SBI and 85.7% of these had low IgM memory B-cell percentages, which was the only significant factors related to community-acquired SBI (P = 0.028).
Conclusion:
The memory B cell and IgM memory B-cell percentages are low in patients with heterotaxy syndrome, and the presence of IgM memory B-cell percentage < 1% correlates with community-acquired SBI.
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Chiu, SN., Shao, PL., Wang, JK. et al. Low immunoglobulin M memory B-cell percentage in patients with heterotaxy syndrome correlates with the risk of severe bacterial infection. Pediatr Res 79, 271–277 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/pr.2015.221
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/pr.2015.221
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