PURPOSE: To describe the detailed retinal phenotype of KCNV2-associated retinopathy.STUDY DESIGN: Multicenter international retrospective case series.METHODS: Review of retinal imaging including... Show morePURPOSE: To describe the detailed retinal phenotype of KCNV2-associated retinopathy.STUDY DESIGN: Multicenter international retrospective case series.METHODS: Review of retinal imaging including fundus autofluorescence (FAF) and optical coherence tomography (OCT), including qualitative and quantitative analyses.RESULTS: Three distinct macular FAF features were identified: (1) centrally increased signal (n = 35, 41.7%), (2) decreased autofluorescence (n = 27, 31.1%), and (3) ring of increased signal (n = 37, 44.0%). Five distinct FAF groups were identified based on combinations of those features, with 23.5% of patients changing the FAF group over a mean (range) follow-up of 5.9 years (1.9-13.1 years). Qualitative assessment was performed by grading OCT into 5 grades: (1) continuous ellipsoid zone (EZ) (20.5%); (2) EZ disruption (26.1%); (3) EZ absence, without optical gap and with preserved retinal pigment epithelium complex (21.6%); (4) loss of EZ and a hyporeflective zone at the foveola (6.8%); and (5) outer retina and retinal pigment epithelium complex loss (25.0%). Eighty-six patients had scans available from both eyes, with 83 (96.5%) having the same grade in both eyes, and 36.1% changed OCT grade over a mean follow-up of 5.5 years. The annual rate of outer nuclear layer thickness change was similar for right and left eyes.CONCLUSIONS: KCNV2-associated retinopathy is a slowly progressive disease with early retinal changes, which are predominantly symmetric between eyes. The identification of a single OCT or FAF measurement as an endpoint to determine progression that applies to all patients may be challenging, although outer nuclear layer thickness is a potential biomarker. Findings suggest a potential window for intervention until 40 years of age. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. Show less
Georgiou, M.; Robson, A.G.; Fujinami, K.; Leo, S.M.; Vincent, A.; Nasser, F.; ... ; Michaelides, M. 2021
center dot PURPOSE: To investigate genetics, electrophysiology, and clinical course of KCNV2-associated retinopathy in a cohort of children and adults. center dot STUDY DESIGN: This was a... Show morecenter dot PURPOSE: To investigate genetics, electrophysiology, and clinical course of KCNV2-associated retinopathy in a cohort of children and adults. center dot STUDY DESIGN: This was a multicenter international clinical cohort study. center dot METHODS: Review of clinical notes and molecular genetic testing. Full-field electroretinography (ERG) recordings, incorporating the international standards, were reviewed and quantified and compared with age and recordings from control subjects. center dot RESULTS: In total, 230 disease-associated alleles were identified from 117 patients, corresponding to 75 different KCNV2 variants, with 28 being novel. The mean age of onset was 3.9 years old. All patients were symptomatic before 12 years of age (range, 0-11 years). Decreased visual acuity was present in all patients, and 4 other symptoms were common: reduced color vision (78.6%), photophobia (53.5%), nyctalopia (43.6%), and nystagmus (38.6%). After a mean follow-up of 8.4 years, the mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA +/- SD) decreased from 0.81 +/- 0.27 to 0.90 +/- 0.31 logarithm of minimal angle of resolution. Full field ERGs showed pathognomonic waveform features. Quantitative assessment revealed a wide range of ERG amplitudes and peak times, with a mean rate of age-associated reduction indistinguishable from the control group. Mean amplitude reductions for the dark-adapted 0.01 ERG, dark-adapted 10 ERG a-wave, and LA 3.0 30 Hz and LA3 ERG b-waves were 55%, 21%, 48%, and 74%, respectively compared with control values. Peak times showed stability across 6 decades. center dot CONCLUSION: In KCNV2-associated retinopathy, full field ERGs are diagnostic and consistent with largely stable peripheral retinal dysfunction. Report 1 highlights the severity of the clinical phenotype and established a large cohort of patients, emphasizing the unmet need for trials of novel therapeutics. (Am J Ophthalmol 2021;225: 95-107. (c) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).) Show less
We have reported that the major histocompatibility molecule HLA-DQ2 (DQA1*05:01/DQB1*02:01) (DQ2) is relatively resistant to HLA-DM (DM), a peptide exchange catalyst for MHC class IL In this study,... Show moreWe have reported that the major histocompatibility molecule HLA-DQ2 (DQA1*05:01/DQB1*02:01) (DQ2) is relatively resistant to HLA-DM (DM), a peptide exchange catalyst for MHC class IL In this study, we analyzed the role of DQ2/DM interaction in the generation of DQ2-restricted gliadin epitopes, relevant to celiac disease, or DQ2-restricted viral epitopes, relevant to host defense. We used paired human APC, differing in DM expression (DMnull versus DMhigh) or differing by expression of wild-type DQ2, versus a DM-susceptible, DQ2 point mutant DQ2 alpha+53G. The APC pairs were compared for their ability to stimulate human CD4(+) T cell clones. Despite higher DQ2 levels, DMhigh APC attenuated T cell responses compared with DMnull APC after intracellular generation of four tested gliadin epitopes. DMhigh APC expressing the DQ2 alpha+53G mutant further suppressed these gliadin-mediated responses. The gliadin epitopes were found to have moderate affinity for DQ2, and even lower affinity for the DQ2 mutant, consistent with DM suppression of their presentation. In contrast, DMhigh APC significantly promoted the presentation of DQ2-restricted epitopes derived intracellularly from inactivated HSV type 2, influenza hemagglutinin, and human papillomavirus E7 protein. When extracellular peptide epitopes were used as Ag, the DQ2 surface levels and peptide affinity were the major regulators of T cell responses. The differential effect of DM on stimulation of the two groups of T cell clones implies differences in DQ2 presentation pathways associated with nonpathogen- and pathogen-derived Ags in vivo. Show less
Zeng, Y.; Nie, C.; Min, J.X.; Chen, H.; Liu, X.M.; Ye, R.; ... ; Vaupel, J. 2018
Sunitinib has been approved by FDA in 2006 and became the first-line treatment for patients with clear cell metastatic renal cell carcinoma (cc-mRCC) due to its dramatic improvement in... Show moreSunitinib has been approved by FDA in 2006 and became the first-line treatment for patients with clear cell metastatic renal cell carcinoma (cc-mRCC) due to its dramatic improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) and affordable toxicity. However, the inter-individual variability of sunitinib outcomes is large. Some clinical factors, such as blood pressure, can partly predict sunitinib efficacy, but they are not enough. More insight into the genetic factors underlying sunitinib outcome could also be helpful to improve optimization of treatment. In this thesis, the relevance of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to sunitinib treatment in (cc)-mRCC patients was investigated with regard to efficacy and toxicity.We identified SNPs in IL8,IL13, VEGFR, CYP3A5 and CTLA-4 were associated with efficacy, toxicity and clearance.Further validation in independent cohorts is need before the implementation of these genetic biomarkers into clinical practice. Show less
Liu, X.; Diekstra, M.H.; Swen, J.J.; E. boven; Castellano, D.; Gelderblom, H.; ... ; Guchelaar, H. 2016
