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Che M, Moran SM, Smith RJ, Ren KYM, Smith GN, Shamseddin MK, Avila-Casado C, Garland JS. A case-based narrative review of pregnancy-associated atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome/complement-mediated thrombotic microangiopathy. Kidney Int 2024; 105:960-970. [PMID: 38408703 DOI: 10.1016/j.kint.2023.12.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome is a complement-mediated thrombotic microangiopathy caused by uncontrolled activation of the alternative complement pathway in the setting of autoantibodies to or rare pathogenic genetic variants in complement proteins. Pregnancy may serve as a trigger and unmask atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome/complement-mediated thrombotic microangiopathy (aHUS/CM-TMA), which has severe, life-threatening consequences. It can be difficult to diagnose aHUS/CM-TMA in pregnancy due to overlapping clinical features with other thrombotic microangiopathy syndromes including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. However, the distinction among thrombotic microangiopathy etiologies in pregnancy is important because each syndrome has specific disease management and treatment. In this narrative review, we discuss 2 cases to illustrate the diagnostic challenges and evolving approach in the management of pregnancy-associated aHUS/CM-TMA. The first case involves a 30-year-old woman presenting in the first trimester who was diagnosed with aHUS/CM-TMA and treated with eculizumab from 19 weeks' gestation. Genetic testing revealed a likely pathogenic variant in CFI. She successfully delivered a healthy infant at 30 weeks' gestation. In the second case, a 22-year-old woman developed severe postpartum HELLP syndrome, requiring hemodialysis. Her condition improved with supportive management, yet investigations assessing for aHUS/CM-TMA remained abnormal 6 months postpartum consistent with persistent complement activation but negative genetic testing. Through detailed case discussion describing tests assessing for placental health, fetal anatomy, complement activation, autoantibodies to complement regulatory proteins, and genetic testing for aHUS/CM-TMA, we describe how these results aided in the clinical diagnosis of pregnancy-associated aHUS/CM-TMA and assisted in guiding patient management, including the use of anticomplement therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Che
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sarah M Moran
- Department of Nephrology, Cork University, Cork, Ireland
| | - Richard J Smith
- University of Iowa Molecular Otolaryngology and Renal Research Laboratories, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - Kevin Y M Ren
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Graeme N Smith
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - M Khaled Shamseddin
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Carmen Avila-Casado
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; University Health Network, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jocelyn S Garland
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
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Bharati J, Bijol V, Salvatore S, Jhaveri KD, Sharma P. The Case | A benign reason behind a malignant finding. Kidney Int 2023; 103:433-434. [PMID: 36681465 DOI: 10.1016/j.kint.2022.08.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 08/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Joyita Bharati
- Department of Nephrology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India; Glomerular Center at Northwell Health, Division of Kidney Diseases and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Great Neck, New York, USA
| | - Vanesa Bijol
- Department of Pathology, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Great Neck, New York, USA
| | - Steven Salvatore
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA
| | - Kenar D Jhaveri
- Glomerular Center at Northwell Health, Division of Kidney Diseases and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Great Neck, New York, USA.
| | - Purva Sharma
- Glomerular Center at Northwell Health, Division of Kidney Diseases and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Great Neck, New York, USA
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Eculizumab use in catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome (CAPS): Descriptive analysis from the “CAPS Registry”. Clin Exp Rheumatol 2022; 21:103055. [DOI: 10.1016/j.autrev.2022.103055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Complement inhibition at the level of C3 or C5: mechanistic reasons for ongoing terminal pathway activity. Blood 2021; 137:443-455. [PMID: 33507296 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2020005959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Blocking the terminal complement pathway with the C5 inhibitor eculizumab has revolutionized the clinical management of several complement-mediated diseases and has boosted the clinical development of new inhibitors. Data on the C3 inhibitor Compstatin and the C5 inhibitors eculizumab and Coversin reported here demonstrate that C3/C5 convertases function differently from prevailing concepts. Stoichiometric C3 inhibition failed to inhibit C5 activation and lytic activity during strong classical pathway activation, demonstrating a "C3 bypass" activation of C5. We show that, instead of C3b, surface-deposited C4b alone can also recruit and prime C5 for consecutive proteolytic activation. Surface-bound C3b and C4b possess similar affinities for C5. By demonstrating that the fluid phase convertase C3bBb is sufficient to cleave C5 as long as C5 is bound on C3b/C4b-decorated surfaces, we show that surface fixation is necessary only for the C3b/C4b opsonins that prime C5 but not for the catalytic convertase unit C3bBb. Of note, at very high C3b densities, we observed membrane attack complex formation in absence of C5-activating enzymes. This is explained by a conformational activation in which C5 adopts a C5b-like conformation when bound to densely C3b-opsonized surfaces. Stoichiometric C5 inhibitors failed to prevent conformational C5 activation, which explains the clinical phenomenon of residual C5 activity documented for different inhibitors of C5. The new insights into the mechanism of C3/C5 convertases provided here have important implications for the development and therapeutic use of complement inhibitors as well as the interpretation of former clinical and preclinical data.
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Koopman JJE, van Essen MF, Rennke HG, de Vries APJ, van Kooten C. Deposition of the Membrane Attack Complex in Healthy and Diseased Human Kidneys. Front Immunol 2021; 11:599974. [PMID: 33643288 PMCID: PMC7906018 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.599974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The membrane attack complex-also known as C5b-9-is the end-product of the classical, lectin, and alternative complement pathways. It is thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of various kidney diseases by causing cellular injury and tissue inflammation, resulting in sclerosis and fibrosis. These deleterious effects are, consequently, targeted in the development of novel therapies that inhibit the formation of C5b-9, such as eculizumab. To clarify how C5b-9 contributes to kidney disease and to predict which patients benefit from such therapy, knowledge on deposition of C5b-9 in the kidney is essential. Because immunohistochemical staining of C5b-9 has not been routinely conducted and never been compared across studies, we provide a review of studies on deposition of C5b-9 in healthy and diseased human kidneys. We describe techniques to stain deposits and compare the occurrence of deposits in healthy kidneys and in a wide spectrum of kidney diseases, including hypertensive nephropathy, diabetic nephropathy, membranous nephropathy, IgA nephropathy, lupus nephritis, C3 glomerulopathy, and thrombotic microangiopathies such as the atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, vasculitis, interstitial nephritis, acute tubular necrosis, kidney tumors, and rejection of kidney transplants. We summarize how these deposits are related with other histological lesions and clinical characteristics. We evaluate the prognostic relevance of these deposits in the light of possible treatment with complement inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob J E Koopman
- Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Mieke F van Essen
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Helmut G Rennke
- Division of Renal Pathology, Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Aiko P J de Vries
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Cees van Kooten
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
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Neto ME, de Moraes Soler L, Vasconcelos HVG, Nga HS, Bravin AM, Borges JCA, Gonçalves RC, Von Kriiger RB, Quinino RM, de Mello Santana VBB, de Holanda MI, Vaisbich MH, Naseri AP, Kirsztajn GM, Palma LMP, Andrade LGM. Eculizumab interruption in atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome due to shortage: analysis of a Brazilian cohort. J Nephrol 2021; 34:1373-1380. [PMID: 33387344 DOI: 10.1007/s40620-020-00920-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The risk of eculizumab therapy discontinuation in patients with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is unclear. The main objective of this study was to analyze the risk of aHUS relapse after eculizumab interruption due to drug shortage in Brazil. METHODS We screened all the registered dialysis centers in Brazil (n = 800), willing to participate in the aHUS Brazilian shortage cohort, through electronic mail and formal invitation by the Brazilian Society of Nephrology. We included patients with aHUS whose eculizumab therapy underwent unplanned discontinuation for at least 30 days between January 1st, 2016 and December 31st, 2019 during the maintenance phase of treatment. Relapse was defined by the development of thrombocytopenia, hemolytic anemia, acute kidney injury or thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) in a kidney biopsy. RESULTS We analyzed 25 episodes of exposure to risk of relapse, from 24 patients. Median age was 33 (6-53) years, 18 (72%) were female, 9 (36%) had a functioning renal graft, 5 (20%) were undergoing dialysis. CFH variant was found in 8 (32%) episodes. There were 11 relapses. The risk of relapse was 34%, 44.5% and 58% at 114, 150 and 397 days, respectively. No baseline variable was related to relapse in Cox multivariate analysis, including CFH variant. CONCLUSIONS In this study, the cumulative incidence of aHUS relapse at 397 days was 58% after eculizumab interruption. The presence of complement variant does not seem to be associated with a higher relapse rate. The eculizumab interruption was deemed not safe, considering that the rate of relapse was high.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Ernandes Neto
- Department of Internal Medicine, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brazil. .,Hospital BP-a Beneficência Portuguesa de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
| | - Lucas de Moraes Soler
- Department of Internal Medicine, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Hong Si Nga
- Department of Internal Medicine, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brazil
| | - Ariane Moyses Bravin
- Department of Internal Medicine, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Raquel Martins Quinino
- Hospital Universitário Onofre Lopes, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
| | | | - Maria Izabel de Holanda
- Hospital Federal de Bonsucesso-Serviço de Nefrologia e Transplante, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | | | - Alice Pignaton Naseri
- Setor de Nefrologia da Unidade de Gestão de Transplantes da Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, ES, Brazil
| | | | - Lilian Monteiro Pereira Palma
- Nefrologia Pediátrica-Departamento de Pediatria da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brazil
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Complement blockade for TA-TMA: lessons learned from a large pediatric cohort treated with eculizumab. Blood 2020; 135:1049-1057. [PMID: 31932840 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2019004218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2019] [Accepted: 01/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Overactivated complement is a high-risk feature in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients with transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA), and untreated patients have dismal outcomes. We present our experience with 64 pediatric HSCT recipients who had high-risk TA-TMA (hrTA-TMA) and multiorgan injury treated with the complement blocker eculizumab. We demonstrate significant improvement to 66% in 1-year post-HSCT survival in treated patients from our previously reported untreated cohort with same hrTA-TMA features that had 1-year post-HSCT survival of 16.7%. Responding patients benefited from a brief but intensive course of eculizumab using pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic-guided dosing, requiring a median of 11 doses of eculizumab (interquartile range [IQR] 7-20). Treatment was discontinued because TA-TMA resolved at a median of 66 days (IQR 41-110). Subjects with higher complement activation measured by elevated blood sC5b-9 at the start of treatment were less likely to respond (odds ratio, 0.15; P = .0014) and required more doses of eculizumab (r = 0.43; P = .0004). Patients with intestinal bleeding had the fastest eculizumab clearance, required the highest number of eculizumab doses (20 vs 9; P = .0015), and had lower 1-year survival (44% vs 78%; P = .01). Over 70% of survivors had proteinuria on long-term follow-up. The best glomerular filtration rate (GFR) recovery in survivors was a median 20% lower (IQR, 7.3%-40.3%) than their pre-HSCT GFR. In summary, complement blockade with eculizumab is an effective therapeutic strategy for hrTA-TMA, but some patients with severe disease lacked a complete response, prompting us to propose early intervention and search for additional targetable endothelial injury pathways.
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Ahmad SB, Bomback AS. C3 Glomerulopathy: Pathogenesis and Treatment. Adv Chronic Kidney Dis 2020; 27:104-110. [PMID: 32553242 DOI: 10.1053/j.ackd.2019.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2019] [Revised: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
C3 glomerulopathy (C3G) is a rare set of kidney diseases with 2 patterns: C3 glomerulonephritis (C3GN) and dense deposit disease. Pathogenesis of both diseases is due to complement dysregulation in the alternative pathway. Acquired or genetic alterations of the regulatory proteins of the complement pathway result in C3G. Although the disease is characterized by low C3 levels in serum and C3-dominant staining by immunofluorescence on biopsy, other disease entities such as infection-related glomerulonephritis and masked monoclonal deposits can present similarly. Both the C3GN and dense deposit disease variants of C3G are progressive and recur in transplanted kidneys. Although no direct treatment is available, complement blockers are either available or in the clinical trial phase. This review will survey the pathogenesis of C3GN and current treatment options.
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Haninger-Vacariu N, Aigner C, Kain R, Prohászka Z, Gaggl M, Böhmig GA, Piggott LC, Sunder-Plassmann R, Sunder-Plassmann G, Schmidt A. Successful Pregnancies During Ongoing Eculizumab Therapy in Two Patients With Complement-Mediated Thrombotic Microangiopathy. Kidney Med 2020; 2:213-217. [PMID: 32734241 PMCID: PMC7380370 DOI: 10.1016/j.xkme.2019.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
In patients with pregnancy-associated complement gene variant-mediated thrombotic microangiopathy (cTMA), terminal complement blockade is used for treatment of cTMA flares during pregnancy or following delivery. We report pregnancy and delivery outcomes of 2 genetically high-risk patients with cTMA, including 1 kidney transplant recipient, during ongoing eculizumab therapy. In both patients, the first manifestation of cTMA occurred independent from pregnancy. One patient has a history of 2 uneventful pregnancies with prophylactic plasma infusions, and the other has a history of early abortion during long-term eculizumab therapy following kidney transplantation. Overall, pregnancy and delivery outcomes under ongoing eculizumab therapy in our 2 patients with preserved kidney function were excellent as compared with other patients reported in the literature. Eculizumab plasma concentrations were maintained in the therapeutic range during pregnancy and were also detectable in cord blood. Results of cord blood analysis showed deficient complement activity, with low factor and regulator levels, most likely reflecting the age of the neonates and presence of eculizumab in cord blood. In conclusion, pregnancy during ongoing eculizumab treatment appeared to be safe in 2 women with a history of high-risk genetic cTMA and excellent kidney function, even following kidney transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalja Haninger-Vacariu
- Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Department of Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christof Aigner
- Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Department of Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Renate Kain
- Clinical Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Zoltán Prohászka
- Research Laboratory, 3rd Department of Internal Medicine, and MTA-SE Research Group of Immunology and Hematology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Martina Gaggl
- Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Department of Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Georg A Böhmig
- Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Department of Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Leah Charlotte Piggott
- Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Department of Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Raute Sunder-Plassmann
- Genetics Laboratory, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Gere Sunder-Plassmann
- Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Department of Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Alice Schmidt
- Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Department of Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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