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Qu D, Preuss V, Hagemeier L, Radomsky L, Beushausen K, Keil J, Nora S, Vennemann B, Falk CS, Klintschar M. Age-related cytokine imbalance in the thymus in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Pediatr Res 2024; 95:949-958. [PMID: 37679518 PMCID: PMC10920197 DOI: 10.1038/s41390-023-02809-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has been considered to be triggered by a combination of underlying immune dysregulation and infections. The thymus is a crucial lymphatic organ responsible for T cell development in infancy. We hypothesized that an altered thymic immune status may be detectable by intrathymic cytokine profiling in SIDS. METHODS 27 cytokines in protein lysates of thymus tissue and thymus weights were assessed in 26 SIDS cases and 16 infants who died of other reasons. RESULTS Seventeen out of 27 cytokines were increased in thymic tissue of SIDS compared to controls without infections, and the most significant discrepancy was in infants younger than 20 weeks. The thymic cytokine profiles in SIDS cases were similar to those in controls with severe infection; however, the magnitude of the cytokine concentration elevation in SIDS was less pronounced, indicating sub-clinical infections in SIDS. In contrast to SIDS, intrathymic cytokine concentrations and thymus weight were increased with age in control children. CONCLUSIONS Elevated thymic cytokine expression and thymus weight, as well as impaired age-related alterations in SIDS, may be influenced by subclinical infection, which may play a role in initiating SIDS in infants with a compromised immune response. IMPACT STATEMENT Increased thymic weight and cytokine concentration may suggest possible subclinical infection in SIDS. Elevated thymic weight and cytokine concentration mainly in SIDS cases aged <20 weeks. Age-related impairment in the thymic weight and cytokine expression may be impaired by subclinical infection in SIDS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Qu
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Vanessa Preuss
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Lars Hagemeier
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Lena Radomsky
- Institute of Transplant Immunology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research, DZIF, TTU-IICH, Hannover-Braunschweig site, Hannover, Germany
| | - Kerstin Beushausen
- Institute of Transplant Immunology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Jana Keil
- Institute of Transplant Immunology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Schaumann Nora
- Institute of Pathology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | | | - Christine S Falk
- Institute of Transplant Immunology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research, DZIF, TTU-IICH, Hannover-Braunschweig site, Hannover, Germany
| | - Michael Klintschar
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
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Goldwater PN, Kelmanson IA, Little BB. Increased thymus weight in sudden infant death syndrome compared to controls: The role of sub-clinical infections. Am J Hum Biol 2020; 33:e23528. [PMID: 33107139 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The goal of the present investigation is to analyze thymus, brain, heart, liver, and kidney weights in SIDS victims compared to controls. BACKGROUND Epidemiologic risk factors for SIDS (eg, male gender, genetic, obstetric, environmental, smoke exposure, nonbreastfeeding, etc.) are consistent with an infectious process underlying many of these deaths. METHODS Data from autopsy reports on 585 SIDS victims and comparison deaths (n = 294 control, n = 291 SIDS) were analyzed. Cases were obtained from Australia (n = 184 controls, n = 98 SIDS) and Russia (n = 122 controls, n = 181 SIDS). Log10 transform of thymus and other organ weights was computed because variables were skewed. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) of standardized log values were age-adjusted by multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The standardized log10 thymus residual adjusted for age, brain and liver weights was computed for the final analysis. RESULTS After controlling for age by MANCOVA, thymus, body, brain and liver weights were significantly higher among SIDS compared to non-SIDS victims. The largest difference as between covariate-adjusted log10 non-SIDS thymus weight differed (mean = 1.423, 95% CI: 1.393-1.452) and log10 non-SIDS thymus weight (mean = 1.269, 95% CI: 1.243-1.294) were significantly different (P < .0001). Heart weight was significantly lower in SIDS victims. DISCUSSION When adjusted for confounders (age, body, and organ weights), SIDS victims have a significantly heavier thymus and brain compared to non-SIDS controls who died of trauma. This finding supports previously published studies that link infection to SIDS deaths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Nathan Goldwater
- Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Igor A Kelmanson
- Department of Children's Diseases, St. Petersburg State Institute of Psychology and Social Work, Institute for Medical Education of the V.A. Almazov National Medical Research Centre, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Bertis B Little
- Health Management and Systems Science, School of Public Health and Information Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
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Liebrechts-Akkerman G, Liu F, van Marion R, Dinjens WNM, Kayser M. Explaining sudden infant death with cardiac arrhythmias: Complete exon sequencing of nine cardiac arrhythmia genes in Dutch SIDS cases highlights new and known DNA variants. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2020; 46:102266. [PMID: 32145446 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2020.102266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2019] [Revised: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies suggested that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) can partially be genetically explained by cardiac arrhythmias; however, the number of individuals and populations investigated remain limited. We report the first SIDS study on cardiac arrhythmias genes from the Netherlands, a country with the lowest SIDS incidence likely due to parent education on awareness of environmental risk factors. By using targeted massively parallel sequencing (MPS) in 142 Dutch SIDS cases, we performed a complete exon screening of all 173 exons from 9 cardiac arrhythmias genes SCN5A, KCNQ1, KCNH2, KCNE1, KCNE2, CACNA1C, CAV3, ANK2 and KCNJ2 (∼34,000 base pairs), that were selected to harbour previously established SIDS-associated DNA variants. Motivated by the poor DNA quality from the paraffin embedded material used, the application of a conservative sequencing quality control protocol resulted in 102 SIDS cases surviving quality control. Amongst the 102 SIDS cases, we identified a total of 40 DNA variants in 8 cardiac arrhythmia genes found in 60 (58.8 %) cases. Statistical analyses using ancestry-adjusted reference population data and multiple test correction revealed that 13 (32.5 %) of the identified DNA variants in 6 cardiac arrhythmia genes were significantly associated with SIDS, which were observed in 15 (14.7 %) SIDS cases. These 13, and another three, DNA variants were classified as likely pathogenic for cardiac arrhythmias using the American College of Medical Genetics guidelines for interpretation of sequence variants. The 16 likely pathogenic DNA variants were found in 16 (15.7 %) SIDS cases, including i) 3 novel DNA variants not recorded in public databases ii) 7 known DNA variants for which significant SIDS association established here was previously unknown, and iii) 6 known DNA variants for which LQTS association was reported previously. By having replicated previously reported SIDS-associated DNA variants located in cardiac arrhythmia genes and by having highlighting novel SIDS-associated DNA variants in such genes, our findings provide additional empirical evidence for the partial genetic explanation of SIDS by cardiac arrhythmias. On a wider note, our study outcome stresses the need for routine post-mortem genetic screening of assumed SIDS cases, particularly for cardiac arrhythmia genes. When put in practise, it will allow preventing further sudden deaths (not only in infants) in the affected families, thereby allowing forensic molecular autopsy not only to provide answers on the cause of death, but moreover to save lives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Germaine Liebrechts-Akkerman
- Department of Genetic Identification, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Pathology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Fan Liu
- Department of Genetic Identification, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Key Laboratory of Genomic and Precision Medicine, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ronald van Marion
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Winand N M Dinjens
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Manfred Kayser
- Department of Genetic Identification, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Tuchtan L, Delteil C, Levrat F, Bacquet J, Garcia P, Fayol L, Gorincour G, Zandotti C, Girard N, Drancourt M, Léonetti G, Piercecchi Marti MD, Bartoli C. Sudden unexpected infant death characteristics in the French region of West Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Paediatr Int Child Health 2019; 39:104-110. [PMID: 30382004 DOI: 10.1080/20469047.2018.1533734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Background: Although the incidence of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) has decreased since the 'Back to Sleep' campaign in English-speaking countries and other preventive campaigns, the circumstances of such deaths remain unclear. Aim: To analyse infant deaths recorded at the referral centre for sudden infant death of the West Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France (West PACA) and the forensic medicine department of Marseille University Hospital. Methods: Information on all SUID cases from 2000 to 2017 was extracted from the referral centre for sudden infant deaths in West PACA and the forensic medicine department of Marseille. Results: The study included 130 infants over the 17 years with a very similar distribution. There was a marked male preponderance, with 61.6% of boys whatever the age at death (sex ratio 1.6). Half of the deaths occurred in the first 6 months of life and the majority (61%) of infants died during autumn and winter. Nearly one-third (33.2%) had presented with minor infections and 21% had been seen by a doctor or had been admitted to hospital. Most deaths (86.4%) occurred during sleep (night or day). Nearly half of the infants (47.7%) were discovered in a prone position. A large majority of parents (90.7%) agreed to a post-mortem examination. Only 6.2% of deaths led to legal proceedings. Nearly 16.9% remained unexplained after compiling all the data included in the protocol and 9.2% remained unexplained because of incomplete investigation, including refusal of post-mortem examination. Abuse was involved in 2.3% of cases. Conclusions: Asymptomatic infectious conditions were associated with a high proportion of SUID cases. Non-supine sleep positions were still practised. There is a need to increase SUID prevention campaigns. Abbreviations: HAS, Haute Autorité de Santé: French National Health Authority; NICHD, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; PACA, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France; SUID, sudden unexpected infant death; SIDS, sudden infant death syndrome; CépiDc, Centre d'Epidémiologie sur les Causes Médicales de Décès/Center for Epidemiology on the Medical Causes of Death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucile Tuchtan
- a Forensic Department , APHM, Hôpital de la Timone , Marseille , France.,b CNRS, EFS, ADES , Aix Marseille Université , Marseille , France
| | - Clémence Delteil
- a Forensic Department , APHM, Hôpital de la Timone , Marseille , France.,b CNRS, EFS, ADES , Aix Marseille Université , Marseille , France
| | - Flore Levrat
- a Forensic Department , APHM, Hôpital de la Timone , Marseille , France
| | - Juliette Bacquet
- a Forensic Department , APHM, Hôpital de la Timone , Marseille , France.,b CNRS, EFS, ADES , Aix Marseille Université , Marseille , France
| | - Patricia Garcia
- c Service de Néonatologie , APHM, Hôpital de la Conception , Marseille , France
| | - Laurence Fayol
- c Service de Néonatologie , APHM, Hôpital de la Conception , Marseille , France
| | - Guillaume Gorincour
- d Département d'Imagerie Médicale , APHM, Hôpital de la Timone , Marseille , France
| | - Christine Zandotti
- e Département de Microbiologie , APHM, Hôpital de la Timone , Marseille , France
| | - Nadine Girard
- d Département d'Imagerie Médicale , APHM, Hôpital de la Timone , Marseille , France
| | - Michel Drancourt
- e Département de Microbiologie , APHM, Hôpital de la Timone , Marseille , France
| | - Georges Léonetti
- a Forensic Department , APHM, Hôpital de la Timone , Marseille , France.,b CNRS, EFS, ADES , Aix Marseille Université , Marseille , France
| | - Marie Dominique Piercecchi Marti
- a Forensic Department , APHM, Hôpital de la Timone , Marseille , France.,b CNRS, EFS, ADES , Aix Marseille Université , Marseille , France
| | - Christophe Bartoli
- a Forensic Department , APHM, Hôpital de la Timone , Marseille , France.,b CNRS, EFS, ADES , Aix Marseille Université , Marseille , France
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Devinsky O, Bundock E, Hesdorffer D, Donner E, Moseley B, Cihan E, Hussain F, Friedman D. Resolving ambiguities in SUDEP classification. Epilepsia 2018; 59:1220-1233. [DOI: 10.1111/epi.14195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Orrin Devinsky
- Epilepsy Center; Department of Neurology; NYU School of Medicine; New York NY USA
| | - Elizabeth Bundock
- Vermont Department of Health; Office of Chief Medical Examiner; Burlington VT USA
| | - Dale Hesdorffer
- Epidemiology; Columbia University Medical Center; New York NY USA
| | - Elizabeth Donner
- Neurology; Faculty of Medicine; University of Toronto; Toronto Canada
| | - Brian Moseley
- Neurology; University of Cincinnati; Cincinnati OH USA
| | - Esma Cihan
- Epilepsy Center; Department of Neurology; NYU School of Medicine; New York NY USA
| | - Fizza Hussain
- Epilepsy Center; Department of Neurology; NYU School of Medicine; New York NY USA
| | - Daniel Friedman
- Epilepsy Center; Department of Neurology; NYU School of Medicine; New York NY USA
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Manskikh VN. The problem of determination of cause of laboratory animal's death: a critical review of definitions of "fatal" and "incidental" lesions. BIOCHEMISTRY (MOSCOW) 2015; 79:1075-80. [PMID: 25519066 DOI: 10.1134/s0006297914100095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The determination of the cause of a laboratory animal's death in gerontological experiments has become extraordinarily urgent in connection with the appearance of ideas on the programmed death of organisms. Unfortunately, the past approach to diagnosis of fatal and incidental changes based only on data of autopsy and histopathology (according to the human pathology model) is not correct for laboratory rodents. Nevertheless, the exact determination of death causes is principally possible in the future under conditions of adequate experimental design (including a large set of clinical, physiological, biochemical, and morphological examinations). However, it seems that even in this case causes of some experimental animal's death will remain unclear.
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Affiliation(s)
- V N Manskikh
- Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics, Moscow, 119991, Russia.
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PHOX2B polyalanine repeat length is associated with sudden infant death syndrome and unclassified sudden infant death in the Dutch population. Int J Legal Med 2014; 128:621-9. [PMID: 24442913 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-013-0962-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2013] [Accepted: 12/30/2013] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Unclassified sudden infant death (USID) is the sudden and unexpected death of an infant that remains unexplained after thorough case investigation including performance of a complete autopsy and review of the circumstances of death and the clinical history. When the infant is below 1 year of age and with onset of the fatal episode apparently occurring during sleep, this is referred to as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). USID and SIDS remain poorly understood despite the identification of several environmental and some genetic risk factors. In this study, we investigated genetic risk factors involved in the autonomous nervous system in 195 Dutch USID/SIDS cases and 846 Dutch, age-matched healthy controls. Twenty-five DNA variants from 11 genes previously implicated in the serotonin household or in the congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, of which some have been associated with SIDS before, were tested. Of all DNA variants considered, only the length variation of the polyalanine repeat in exon 3 of the PHOX2B gene was found to be statistically significantly associated with USID/SIDS in the Dutch population after multiple test correction. Interestingly, our data suggest that contraction of the PHOX2B exon 3 polyalanine repeat that we found in six of 160 SIDS and USID cases and in six of 814 controls serves as a probable genetic risk factor for USID/SIDS at least in the Dutch population. Future studies are needed to confirm this finding and to understand the functional effect of the polyalanine repeat length variation, in particular contraction, in exon 3 of the PHOX2B gene.
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