Chronic Granulomatous Disease: A 25-Year Patient Registry Based on a Multistep Diagnostic Procedure, from the Referral Center for Primary Immunodeficiencies in Greece

Abstract

Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD) is an uncommon primary immunodeficiency caused by the absence or dysfunction of one of NADPH oxidase subunits, with heterogeneous genetic aetiologies. The aim of this study was the CGD patient registry in Greece, the identification of the responsible genotype and the potential correlation with the patient's clinical phenotype. Medical charts of 24 CGD patients, investigated by NBT test or DHR for NADPH oxidase activity, Western blot analysis for NADPH oxidase component expression and DNA sequencing (pyro- and cycle sequencing) for mutation analysis, were reviewed. All patients, but one, were classified into the different types of CGD. Sixteen patients from 14 unrelated families had X-linked CGD (66.7 %), four had mutations in the NCF1 gene (19 %), and three, from two unrelated families, had mutations in NCF2 (9.5 %) [Corrected]. Fifteen mutations were detected in the CYBB gene, including nonsense (53.8 %), splice site (30.8 %) and missense mutations (7.7 %), and deletions (7.7 %). Two novel mutations were identified; one in CYBB and one in NCF1. Carrier detection for X-CGD revealed that the de novo mutation rate was about 7 %. Prenatal diagnosis identified one affected male in three male fetuses tested. In both the X-linked and the autosomal recessive (AR-CGD) group, the gastrointestinal and respiratory manifestations were more common, followed by lympadenopathy in X-CGD and skin infections in the AR-CGD group. The patients with a mutation in CYBB had a wider variability of clinical manifestations and earlier diagnosis (4.6 years) compared to the AR-CGD group (12.9 years). The incidence of CGD in Greece is estimated at 0.90 (95 % CI 0.89-0.91) per 100,000 live births for the last decade.