We are happy to share this article on the genetic basis of Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID). This publication is the result of the work from experts of the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, a RITA member since 2017.
Abstract: The term common variable immunodefciency (CVID) encompasses a clinically diverse group of disorders, mainly characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia, insufcient specifc antibody production, and recurrent infections. The genetics of CVID is complex, and monogenic defects account for only a portion of cases, typically <30%. Other proposed mechanisms include digenic, oligogenic, or polygenic inheritance and epigenetic dysregulation. In this study, we aimed to assess the role of skewed X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) in CVID. Within our cohort of 131 genetically analyzed CVID patients, we selected female patients with rare variants in CVID-associated genes located on the X-chromosome. Four patients harboring heterozygous variants in BTK (n = 2), CD40LG (n = 1), and IKBKG (n = 1) were included in the study. We assessed XCI status using the HUMARA assay and an NGS-based method to quantify the expression of the 2 alleles in mRNA. Three of the 4 patients (75%) exhibited skewed XCI, and the mutated allele was predominantly expressed in all cases. Patient 1 harbored a hypomorphic variant in BTK (p.Tyr418His), patient 3 had a pathogenic variant in CD40LG (c.288+1G>A), and patient 4 had a hypomorphic variant in IKBKG (p.Glu57Lys) and a heterozygous splice variant in TNFRSF13B (TACI) (c.61+2T>A). Overall, the analysis of our cohort suggests that CVID in a small proportion of females (1.6% in our cohort) is caused by skewed XCI and highly penetrant gene variants on the X-chromosome. Additionally, skewed XCI may contribute to polygenic efects (3.3% in our cohort). These results indicate that skewed XCI may represent another piece in the complex puzzle of CVID genetics.
