Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia Patients Research Articles

Management of Adult Patients with Newly Diagnosed or Relapsed Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia in Eastern Austria.

Treatment sequence in primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is based on national and international recommendations, treatment availability, and physician expertise. This article aimed to provide real-world data on treatment sequence and responses to first- and second-line treatments in newly diagnosed and relapsed adult ITP patients. We analyzed a cohort of 46 adult ITP patients from the Vienna ITP Biobank, who started first-line therapy within 1 week before their first study visit between February 2016 and March 2023. We investigated clinical patient characteristics and patient management in our specialized center and examined the impact of the international ASH guidelines on ITP treatment. Forty-six primary ITP patients, 27 (58.7%) with newly diagnosed ITP and 19 (41.3%) with relapsed ITP, were investigated. Most patients were female (65.2%) with a median platelet count of 9 × 109/L, and 31 patients (67.4%) had bleeding symptoms. All patients received first-line treatment with oral prednisolone; 15 patients received oral prednisolone combined with intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs), which were more commonly administered in newly diagnosed than in relapsed ITP patients. First-line therapy resulted an overall response in 82.6% of patients after a median (interquartile range [IQR]) time of 10 (5-25) days. There was no difference in treatment responses between newly diagnosed and relapsed ITP patients, but newly diagnosed patients had a shorter time to response (median [IQR]: 8 [5-14] and 14 [8-27], p = 0.02). Twenty-three (50%) of the patients (11/27 newly diagnosed [40.7%], 12/19 relapsed [63.2%]) required second-line ITP therapy. Thrombopoietin-receptor agonists (TPO-RAs) were the most commonly used second-line therapy with a response rate of 73.7%, and a median (IQR) time to treatment response of 15 (12-20) days. Overall response rates to TPO-RA treatment did not differ between newly diagnosed and relapsed ITP. Following the publication of novel guidelines in 2019, the median (IQR) duration of corticosteroid treatment shortened (100-52 days, p = 0.01), as did the time to second-line treatment (160-47 days, p = 0.01), and the median number of first-line therapies decreased from 2 (1-3) to 1 (1-2). Initial treatment with corticosteroids was effective in the majority of newly diagnosed and relapsed ITP. Response rates to initial corticosteroid treatment in ITP patients are consistent with previous data, but only 50% achieve sustained remission. TPO-RAs, which are well tolerated and effective, are the most commonly used second-line therapy in our study population. International guidelines have led to faster treatment transitions and reduced splenectomy rates. Integration of real-life experience, expert consensus, and guidelines optimizes ITP patient management.

Fibrinolysis is impaired in patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia

BackgroundPatients with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) have an increased risk of thrombosis, which may be due to altered fibrinolysis. ObjectivesTo elucidate the clinical impact of delayed fibrinolysis in ITP patients. MethodsA turbidimetric clot formation and lysis assay and a fluorometric plasmin generation (PG) assay were performed, and levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), tPA-PAI-1 complexes, α2-antiplasmin, thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor, and D-dimer were assessed in 86 adult primary ITP patients and 78 healthy controls (HCs). ResultsITP patients showed significantly delayed clot formation, increased clot density, and prolonged clot lysis time (CLT) compared with HCs, with a median (IQR) CLT of 28.0 (13.7-34.7) minutes in patients and 17.3 (12.0-28.0) minutes in HCs, while in the PG assay, only the lag time was prolonged. In ITP patients compared with controls, PAI-1 was higher (1.2 [0.8-2.6] vs 1.1 [0.6-2.1] U/mL) and tPA antigen and activity were lower (tPA antigen: 2.6 [1.1-4.4] vs 3.7 [3.2-4.7] ng/mL; tPA activity ≤ 0 U/mL: 26% vs 7%). TPA-PAI-1 complex levels were positively associated with CLT in multiple linear regression analysis (β = 0.241; P = .019), whereas PG parameters were not associated with CLT. Six patients who developed thrombosis during follow-up had higher levels of tPA-PAI-1 complexes. ConclusionProlonged CLT and delayed onset of PG may indicate a hypofibrinolytic tendency in ITP patients, as also indicated by high PAI-1 and low tPA levels. No association was found between fibrinolytic potential and the bleeding phenotype, whereas higher tPA-PAI-1 complex levels were associated with prolonged CLT and increased in patients with future thrombosis.

Incidence and risk factors of systemic lupus erythematosus in patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Immune disorders and autoantibodies has been noted in both primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Whether the two disorders are correlated is unclear. The lack of evidence on the incidence of and risk factors for SLE in primary ITP patients poses a challenge for prediction in clinical practice. Therefore, we conducted this study. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023403665). Web of Science, Cochrane, PubMed, and EMBASE were searched for articles published from inception to 30 September 2023 on patients who were first diagnosed with primary ITP and subsequently developed into SLE. Furthermore, the risk factors were analyzed. Study quality was estimated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The statistical process was implemented using the R language. This systematic review included eight articles. The incidence of SLE during the follow-up after ITP diagnosis was 2.7% (95% CI [1.3-4.4%]), with an incidence of 4.6% (95% CI [1.6-8.6%]) in females and 0 (95% CI [0.00-0.4%]) in males. Older age (OR = 6.31; 95% CI [1.11-34.91]), positive antinuclear antibody (ANA) (OR = 6.64; 95% CI [1.40-31.50]), hypocomplementemia (OR = 8.33; 95% CI [1.62-42.91]), chronic ITP (OR = 24.67; 95% CI [3.14-100.00]), organ bleeding (OR = 13.67; 95% CI [2.44-76.69]), and female (OR = 20.50; 95% CI [4.94-84.90]) were risk factors for subsequent SLE in ITP patients. Patients with primary ITP are at higher risk of SLE. Specific follow-up and prevention strategies should be tailored especially for older females with positive ANA, hypocomplementemia, or chronic ITP. In subsequent studies, we need to further investigate the risk factors and try to construct corresponding risk prediction models to develop specific prediction strategies for SLE.

Challenges in treating primary immune thrombocytopenia patients undergoing COVID-19 vaccination: A retrospective study.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019, countries around the world, including China, have been administering COVID-19 vaccines in response to the pandemic. Our center has observed that treating patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) has become more challenging in this context. This study compared the treatment response of 25 de novo ITP patients who had received a COVID-19 vaccination (Group 1) with an equal number of de novo ITP patients randomly selected from the 2 years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (Group 2) by using the Mann-Whitney U test and Fisher's exact. Patients in both groups had predominantly female gender with similar age and baseline platelet counts. However, on Day 3, the median platelets were 22 and 49 × 109/L, and on Day 7, they were 74 and 159 × 109/L, respectively (P < 0.05). Compared to Group 2, Group 1 showed a suboptimal short-term response to glucocorticoid monotherapy, with a higher proportion of patients requiring combination therapy with other drugs including intravenous immunoglobulin, thrombopoietin receptor agonists, and rituximab. After subgroup analysis, a significant difference was observed in the proportion of patients requiring second-line therapy between the two groups. Our study suggests that COVID-19 vaccination may lead to a lower response rate to first-line treatment in de novo ITP patients. Nevertheless, it is crucial to acknowledge the inherent limitations in this conclusion. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and investigate the underlying mechanisms.

Clinical significance of platelet membrane glycoproteins in children with primary immune thrombocytopenia

Abstract Objectives To measure CD62p and CD42b levels and to study its correlations with bleeding score, and different prognostic factors in children with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients. Methods In all, 60 children with ITP and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy participants were recruited and underwent thorough clinical assessments including bleeding score using the modified Buchanan and Adix bleeding score as well as complete blood count with measurement of mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW) and plateletcrit (PCT), coagulation profiles and measurement of platelet glycoproteins (CD62p and CD42b) using a flow cytometer. Results Children with ITP had lower PCT (P&lt;0.001), CD 62 P, and co-expression of CD 42b/CD 62 P and higher MPV (P=0.009), PDW (P&lt;0.001), and CD 42b level. MPV correlates negatively with lymphocyte count and platelet count, while PDW correlates negatively with neutrophil count and positively with hemoglobin. PCT correlates negatively with total leucocyte count, neutrophil count, and positively with platelet count (P=&lt;0.001). Children with chronic ITP usually presented with mild cutaneous bleeding, while those with acute ITP usually suffered from severe mucosal and life-threatening bleeding (P=0.001). Acute ITP cases had the highest total leucocyte count (P&lt;0.001) and the lowest count of platelet (P&lt;0.001); persistent cases had the lowest lymphocyte count (P=0.023) and co-expression of CD42b/CD62p (P=0.039), while chronic cases had the lowest neutrophil count P&lt;0.001) and highest percentage of PCT (P&lt;0.001) and co-expression of CD42b/CD62p (P=0.039). Conclusion Platelet parameters and platelet glycoprotein CD62P and CD42b expression is a simple noninvasive diagnostic tool in ITP children.

Anti-GPIb/IX Autoantibodies Are Associated with Poor Response to Dexamethasone Combined with Rituximab Therapy in Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia Patients

This retrospective study aimed to evaluate whether anti-glycoproteins (GPs) autoantibodies can be used as predictors of response to high-dose dexamethasone combined with rituximab (DXM-RTX) in the treatment of primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients. According to the screening criteria (Figure. 1), 126 ITP patients, including 85 (67.5 %) women and 41 (32.5 %) men, were included in the analyses, with a median age was 32 (10 - 80) years, the median duration of disease was 18 (0.1-228.0) months, and the median platelet count at baseline was 6.0 (0-28.0) × 10 9/L. As shown in Table 1, 56.4% (71/126) of patients responded to DXM-RTX at four weeks, including 43 CR and 28 partial responses. The median time to response (TTR) of 71 responded patients was seven days (range: 4-28 days). The OR rate of ITP patients with anti-GPIb/IX positivity was 47.6% (40/84), while that of anti-GPIb/IX autoantibody-negativity was 73.8% (31/42) (χ 2 = 7.808, P = 0.005). In line with the OR rate, a significant difference was found in the CR rate between ITP patients with anti-GPIb/IX positivity and anti-GPIb/IX autoantibody-negativity (26.2% vs. 50.0%, χ 2 = 7.061, P = 0.008). At six months of DXM-RTX therapy, 54.0% (68/126) of patients responded to DXM-RTX, with 39 (31.0%) of CR. The CR and OR rates of anti-GPIb/IX autoantibody-positive patients were also significantly lower than those of negative patients (CR: 45.2% vs. 71.4%, χ 2 = 7.731, P = 0.005; OR: 25.0% vs. 42.9%, χ 2 = 4.178, P = 0.041). No significant difference ( P &amp;gt; 0.05) was found in OR and CR rates between anti-GPIIb/IIIa autoantibody positive and negative patients at four weeks and six months of DXM-RTX therapy. At four weeks of DXM-RTX therapy, a significant difference in OR rate was found among the patients with anti-GPIb/IX single-positivity (37.5%), double-positivity (51.7%), double-negativity (68.4%), and anti-GPIIb/IIIa single-positivity (78.3%) (χ 2 = 9.617, P = 0.022) (Table 2). The further comparison revealed a higher resistance to DXM-RTX in patients with anti-GPIb/IX single-positivity than patients with anti-GPIIb/IIIa single-positivity (OR: 37.5% vs. 78.3%; P &amp;lt; 0.05). A similar trend was also found in the six-month OR rate (29.2% vs. 78.3%, P &amp;lt; 0.05). An analysis of the CR rate at four weeks of therapy showed a significant difference among the four groups (χ 2 = 8.523, P = 0.036) but no significant difference after Bonferroni's correction ( P &amp;gt; 0.05). No significant difference ( P = 0.119) was found in the CR rate among the four groups at six months of combined therapy. In addition, the NR rate of patients with anti-GPIb/IX single-positivity also increased significantly in comparison with the patients with anti-GPIIb/IIIa single-positivity at four weeks (62.5% vs.21.7%, P &amp;lt; 0.05) and six months (70.8% vs.21.7%, P &amp;lt; 0.05) of combined therapy. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that age, sex, duration of disease, liver function, and baseline platelet count were not associated with patient response to DXM-RTX at 4 weeks and 6 months (Table 3). Anti-GPIb/IX autoantibodies and megakaryocytes of DXM-RTX therapy at both 4 weeks and 6 months were associated with the OR rate of patients, with an odds ratio of 0.194 ( P = 0.003, 95% CI: 0.065-0.575) at 4 weeks and 0.189 ( P = 0.003, 95% CI: 0.064-0.563) at 6 months by comparing patients with anti-GPIb/IX autoantibodies to those without anti-GPIb/IX autoantibodies. The factorial design analyses revealed no interaction effect between autoantibodies and showed anti-GPIb/IX autoantibodies at 4 weeks represented the only significant factor affecting OR rate with DXM-RTX therapy (F = 9.128, P = 0.003, Table 4). Therefore, platelet anti-GPIb/IX autoantibodies can predict poor response to DXM-RTX in ITP patients.

High Titer ANA at Pediatric ITP Presentation Associated with Progression to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Introduction: Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a feature of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in 5-20% of cases. ITP may present at the time of SLE presentation or may precede SLE diagnosis by up to nearly a decade. Even in the absence of an SLE diagnosis, ITP patients may have a positive ANA in ~20% of cases. Some studies suggest that a positive ANA in ITP may herald chronic and more refractory disease, while other studies have not demonstrated a link between ANA+ ITP and progression to SLE. The natural history of ANA+ pediatric ITP patients remains unclear. With the concept that hydroxychloroquine may modulate progression to systemic autoimmunity, European hematologists report using hydroxychloroquine in ANA+ pediatric ITP patients with titers as low as 1:160. However, whether ANA+ ITP patients represent a distinct cohort clinically and should receive different therapies is not well established. The goals of this study were to evaluate the significance and degree of a positive ANA titer at presentation in a cohort of pediatric ITP patients. Methods: Data from a retrospective cohort of 711 ITP patients treated at Texas Children's Hospital from 2012-2022 were reviewed. Patients were defined as SLE if diagnosed as such by rheumatology. To focus on the prognostic value of an ANA upfront, the cohort was refined to include only ITP patients with ANA testing within the newly diagnosed period (0-3 months). Individuals who received IVIG prior to ANA testing were coded as having a missing ANA result given the possibility of false positive results. Being diagnosed concurrently with SLE and ITP was defined as diagnoses within 1 month of each other. Fisher's exact tests were used to compare nonparametric data with a P &amp;lt;0.05 defined as statistically significant. P values were corrected for multiple testing. Results: One hundred sixty-one ITP patients were included for analysis. The cohort was an average of 11.9 years-of-age with a slight female predominance (58.4%). Most of the population self-identified as White and non-Hispanic (84.7%, 45.5%). Nearly 80% had primary ITP and 66.7% were ultimately diagnosed with chronic ITP (cITP). The mean follow-up time for the cohort was 2.2 years (with a range from 0 to 12 years). Forty-seven of 161 (29.2%) individuals had a high titer ANA ³1:1280 at ITP presentation. (Figure 1) There was a statistically significant difference in ANA titer and presence of secondary ITP (P&amp;lt;0.001). Sixty-eight percent (n=23) of secondary ITP patients had a high titer (≥1:1280) ANA versus 20% (n=24) of the primary ITP patients. There was no difference between ANA titer and development of cITP vs. non-cITP. Of this cohort, 20 patients had an ANA tested at ITP presentation and were diagnosed with SLE by rheumatology. Most of these patients had an ANA titer ≥1:1280 (84.2%). The remaining 3 patients had titers of 1:320. Of this cohort, 9 patients had SLE and ITP diagnosed concurrently and 2 had SLE preceding ITP diagnosis by an average of 3.8 years. All 11 patients had an ANA ≥1:1280. Of the 9 who were not diagnosed with SLE at ITP presentation, 6 (66.6%) had an ANA ≥1:1280 and 3 had a titer of 1:320. The lead time to being diagnosed with SLE after presenting with ITP was 1.76 years. Discussion and Conclusions: In this cohort, high titer ANAs in newly diagnosed ITP patients were linked to development of secondary ITP and SLE. Lower titer ANAs were less common, even in those who went on to develop SLE. These findings suggest that specifically high titer ANA results may herald SLE development in pediatric ITP patients. To allow the onset of SLE to be identified earlier, individuals with a high titer ANA at ITP presentation may warrant closer follow-up to monitor for progression to systemic autoimmune disease. This subset of ITP patients could benefit from earlier institution of SLE-directed therapy, such as hydroxychloroquine. Further analysis is underway, including expansion of this analysis to multiple sites within the Pediatric ITP Consortium of North America, as well as surveying pediatric ITP treaters on their practice regarding ANA testing and management in ITP patients.

Iguratimod Could Correct the Defective IL-35-Mediated Megakaryopoiesis in Immune Thrombocytopenia

Introduction: IL-35 is an inhibitory cytokine of the IL-12 family, and comprises an EBI3 subunit and a p35 subunit. Previous data indicated that serum levels of IL-35 were significantly lower in immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients than in healthy controls. Moreover, the concentration of plasma IL-35 in ITP patients achieving complete response returned to normal, but was not corrected in those who failed to achieve response. However, the underlying pathological function of IL-35 in impaired megakaryopoiesis in ITP remains unexplored. Our study aimed to evaluate the immunoregulatory role of IL-35 in megakaryocytes (MKs) differentiation. Iguratimod, a traditional therapy for inflammatory disorders, has been demonstrated to promote megakaryopoiesis. The effect of iguratimod on the treatment of ITP was retrospectively reviewed. Methods: Bone marrow samples were obtained from newly-diagnosed primary ITP patients and healthy donors. CD34+ cells from ITP patients and healthy donors were differentiated into MKs with and without IL-35 to determine the mechanism of IL-35 in megakaryopoiesis. Iguratimod was added to the culture medium of MKs to determine its function in MKs differentiation. Additionally, ITP mouse model was established to further validate the function of IL-35. Results: In comparison with healthy controls, ITP patients showed lower bone marrow levels of IL-35. IL-35 receptor expression was progressively induced on bone marrow MKs from healthy controls during the differentiation of CD34+ progenitors. In contrast, MKs from ITP patients exhibited defective expression of the IL-35 receptor. We then determined the effect of IL-35 on the megakaryocytic potential of CD34+ progenitor cells in culture medium containing TPO. IL-35 increased the number of medium-sized and large-sized colonies, and increased the total number of CD41+ cells. In IL-35-treated MKs, higher levels of Akt phosphorylation were observed. Pretreatment with LY294002, an inhibitor of Akt phosphorylation, blocked the differentiation of MKs induced by IL-35. LY294002 inhibited proplatelet formation and aggregation of β1-tubulin in MKs stimulated by IL-35. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that platelet production decreased in the LY294002 pretreatment group. These results demonstrated that IL-35 can enhance the proliferation and differentiation of MKs through Akt pathways. The decreased level of bone marrow IL-35 may partially explain the defective megakaryopoiesis in ITP. We then explored the potential causes of the decreased IL-35 levels in ITP. Flow cytometry analysis showed that the percentage of bone marrow iTr35 cells, the primary sources of IL-35, was significantly lower in ITP patients. Furthermore, we cocultured CD4+ T cells with MSCs from healthy controls and ITP patients, respectively. The percentage of iTr35 cells was lower when cultured with ITP-MSCs. These results showed that ITP-MSCs exhibited an impaired capability of inducing iTr35 cells, which might contribute to the reduced level of bone marrow IL-35 in ITP patients. We further investigated the effects of iguratimod on the differentiation of CD34+ progenitors into MKs. When CD34+ cells were cultured with TPO alone, the addition of iguratimod upregulated the expression of IL-35 receptors on MKs from ITP patients and a murine model of this disease, and consequently promoted the formation of MK colonies. In the retrospective study of iguratimod, a total of 68 adult patients with corticosteroid-resistant primary ITP were included. Initial response was achieved in 42/68 (62%) patients, and complete response was achieved in 25/68 (37%) patients. In patients who achieved initial response, the median time to response was 28 days. Sustained response at 6 months was seen in 35/68 (51%). Bleeding symptoms were reduced from 37/68 (54%) patients at baseline to 14/68 (21%) patients at 6 months. Most adverse events were mild (grade 1-2), and there were no grade 4 or worse adverse events in our patients. The most common adverse events were elevated ALT, gastrointestinal disorders, and nausea. Conclusions: ITP-MSCs exhibited an impaired capability of inducing iTr35 cells, which contributed to the reduced level of bone marrow IL-35 in ITP. IL-35 promoted MKs differentiation through the Akt pathway. Iguratimod promoted megakaryopoiesis by inducing the expression of IL-35 receptors on MKs. Iguratimod had good efficacy and safety in the treatment of ITP.

Validation of Differentially Expressed Micrornas in Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia Suggests Mir-199a-5p Is a Potential Diagnostic Biomarker

Introduction Currently, there is no specific diagnostic test for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small, noncoding RNAs involved in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Aberrant expression of miRNAs has been suggested to have potential diagnostic value. Previous explorative studies have identified several differentially expressed miRNAs in ITP with potential diagnostic value; however, such findings are usually difficult to reproduce. Therefore, we aimed to validate some of these miRNAs in a larger ITP cohort. Methods Based on previous studies in ITP, we selected 12 miRNAs for validation in patients with primary ITP. The following miRNA were selected: miR-199a-5p, miR-33a-5p, miR-195-5p, miR-130a-3p, miR-144-3p, miR-146a-5p, miR-222-3p, miR-374-5p, miR-486-5p, miR-1341-5p, miR-766-3p, miR-409-3p. Blood samples (n=61) were obtained from 2 cohorts of primary ITP and healthy controls. The first cohort included samples from 24 patients with newly diagnosed or persistent ITP from the PROLONG study (NCT00344149); all patients had been treated with corticosteroids +/- IVIG but relapsed or failed to respond. The second cohort included 37 samples obtained from the ITP biobank at Østfold Hospital, Norway; patients had different disease phases and had received different therapies. In addition, 28 samples were obtained from healthy controls. The miRNAs were quantified in citrated plasma using droplet digital PCR (Bio-Rad). Results The mean age of the ITP patients was 51 years (62% female) and of the controls 47 years (64% female). The mean platelet count for all patients was 48.8 ·10 9/L. PROLONG patients had a lower mean platelet count (33 ·10 9/L) than patients from ITP biobank (59 ·10 9/L). Mann-Whitney test showed that miR-199a-5p (p=0.001), miR-33a-5p (p=0.010), miR-374-5p (p=0.009) and miR-146a-5p (p=0.026) were significantly differentially expressed (downregulated) in ITP compared with controls. Subgroup analysis of PROLONG patients showed that 3 additional miRNAs (7 of the 12 miRNAs) were significantly differentially expressed (downregulated) in these ITP patients: miR-130a-3p (p=0.005), miR-766-3p (p=0.010) and miR-409-3p (p=0.001). ROC curve analysis showed good discrimination for miR-199a-5p in all patients with an AUC of 0.718 (95% CI 0.599-0.836), and satisfactory for miR-33a-5p with an AUC of 0.671 (CI 0.549-0.793), 0.673 (CI 0.554-0.792) for miR-374-5p and 0.632 (CI 0.505-0.759) for miR-409-3p (Figure A). Subgroup analysis for each of the two cohorts separately showed higher AUC in PROLONG patients for miR-199a-5p (AUC=0.824; 95% CI 0.708-0.940), miR-374-5p (AUC=0.806; 95% CI 0.688-0.924), and for miR-33a-5p (AUC=0.732; 95% CI 0.597-0.868). The combination of all three miRNAs: miR-199a-5p, miR-33a-5p and miR-374-5p in PROLONG patients resulted in a slight improvement of the AUC to 0.865 (CI 0.767-0.962) (Figure B). Conclusions This study confirms that miR-199a-5p, miR-33a-5p, miR-374-5p and miR-146a-5p are differentially expressed in primary ITP compared with healthy controls. miR-199a-5p shows a good ability to discriminate primary ITP patients from healthy controls. In the PROLONG cohort, both miR-199a-5p and miR-374-5p showed a very good discrimination, probably due to the fact that these patients had early ITP. These findings should be further validated in a prospective cohort of newly diagnosed ITP patients and in patients with other types of thrombocytopenia to explore their potential diagnostic value. Some of these miRNAs have important regulatory functions, particularly in inflammation and apoptosis, so it is essential to evaluate their function and role in the pathogenesis of ITP and their potential use as therapeutic targets.

Intestinal flora altered and correlated with interleukin-2/4 in patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia

BackgroundLittle is known about the changes and mechanisms of intestinal flora in primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients.AimTo explore the structural and functional differences of intestinal flora between ITP patients and healthy controls, and clarify the correlation between intestinal flora and Th1/Th2 imbalance.MethodsFeces from ITP patients and healthy controls were studied by 16S rRNA and metagenomic techniques at phylum, genus, species or functional levels. Blood samples were collected for the detection of interleukin −2 (IL-2) and IL-4 concentrations.ResultsThe following changes in ITP patients were found: a decrease of Bacteroidetes phylum, an increase of Proteobacteria phylum and alterations of ten genera and 1045 species. IL-2 and IL-4 were significantly correlated with six and five genera, respectively. Species of C. freundii, C. rodentium, and C. youngae were negatively correlated with bleeding scores, and S. infantis was positively related to platelet counts. Functionally, the intestinal flora of ITP patients changed mainly in terms of motility, chemotaxis, membrane transport, and metabolism.ConclusionThe mechanism underlying functional and structural changes of intestinal flora in ITP patients may be related to inflammation and immunity, providing possibilities of probiotics or fecal transplants for ITP.

Pretreatment Absolute Immature Platelet Count is a Promising Predictor of Response to Short-Term Dexamethasone Monotherapy or Combination Therapy in Newly Diagnosed Adult Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia.

Reliable indicators that can predict drug responsiveness in primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients are urgent. We aimed to establish a reference interval of percentage of immature platelet fraction (IPF%) and absolute immature platelet count (A-IPC), and assess their efficacy in discriminating ITP patients from controls, especially their predictive value for responsiveness to drug treatment. We retrospectively studied 72 treatment-naive adult patients with ITP who received Dexamethasone monotherapy or combination therapy. Baseline (pretreatment) information was collected from medical records. Reference intervals for A-IPC and IPF% were established based on controls and their effectiveness in discriminating ITP patients from controls was assessed. Predictive value of pretreatment IPF% and A-IPC at four co-primary endpoints of treatment response in patients were investigated. The 95% reference intervals for A-IPC and IPF% were (2.7-15.6) × 109/L and 1.2%-7.3%, respectively. Both A-IPC and IPF% had excellentdiscrimination ability for ITP patients from controls. It showed highly statistically significantdifferences in pretreatment A-IPC for predicting treatment response at day 7 between responders and non-responders, but not at days 14, 21 and 28. Pretreatment A-IPC had the higher area under the ROC curve with a cut-off of 0.86 than that of IPF% with a cut-off of 14.5% in predicting the treatment response in ITP patients at day 7. Pretreatment A-IPC exhibited acceptable predictive power and could be a promising predictor of response to short-term Dexamethasone monotherapy or combination therapy at day 7 in ITP patients.

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in adult immune thrombocytopenia patients

Background: Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative, microaerophilic bacteria colonizing more than half of the world’s human stomachs. It is the causal agent of active chronic gastritis and the most common cause of peptic ulceration, including gastric and duodenal ulcers. Aims and Objectives: This study aims to the prevalence of H. pylori infection in adult immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients. Materials and Methods: An interventional and prospective study was conducted over 6 months with over 50 ITP patients, including those admitted to the general medicine ward and those in regular follow-up in medicine outpatient department. In addition, in all primary ITP patients, a stool antigen test for H. pylori Ag and baseline complete blood count, including platelet count, were done. In addition, all patients’ platelet count was monitored twice weekly for 6 months. Results: Of the 50 patients, 40 are female and 10 are male. The bleeding manifestation was present in 34 patients (68%) and absent in 16 (32%). Among 34 patients, purpura was more frequent (35.3%), followed by gum bleeding 17.6%. Fourteen people tested positive for the H. pylori antigen. Thirty-six patients were found to be H. pylori antigen negative. H. pylori positive frequency was 28%. Patients who receive both steroids and an H. pylori regimen are 9 (18%). Patients who received the H. pylori regimen were only 5 (10%). Patients only receiving steroid doses are 27 (54%). Conclusion: We conclude that 28% of our study patients are infected with H. pylori, and eradicating this organism significantly improves the platelet count. However, a more extended follow-up period is needed to detect the true prevalence of H. pylori infection and the duration of remission.

Anti-GPIb/IX autoantibodies are associated with poor response to dexamethasone combined with rituximab therapy in primary immune thrombocytopenia patients

This retrospective study aimed to evaluate whether anti-glycoproteins (GPs) autoantibodies can be used as predictors of response to high-dose dexamethasone combined with rituximab (DXM-RTX) in the treatment of primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients. One-hundred twenty-six ITP patients were included and retrospectively analyzed, 66.7% of anti-GPIb/IX and 65.9% of anti-GPIIb/IIIa autoantibodies. Results showed that overall response (OR) and complete response (CR) rates of patients without anti-GPIb/IX autoantibodies to DXM-RTX were significantly higher than those with anti-GPIb/IX autoantibodies at 4 weeks (OR: 73.8% vs. 47.6%, CR: 50.0% vs. 26.2%; P < 0.05) and 6 months (OR: 71.4% vs. 45.2%, CR: 42.9% vs. 25.0%; P < .05). Furthermore, patients with anti-GPIb/IX single-positivity exhibited higher resistance to DXM-RTX than patients with anti-GPIIb/IIIa single-positivity at 4 weeks (OR: 37.5% vs. 78.3%; P < .05) and 6 months (OR: 29.2% vs. 78.3%; P < .05). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that anti-GPIb/IX autoantibodies and megakaryocytes were associated with the OR rate of patients at both 4 weeks and 6 months, and anti-GPIb/IX autoantibodies at 4 weeks represented the only significant factor affecting OR rate with DXM-RTX (F = 9.128, P = .003). Therefore, platelet anti-GPIb/IX autoantibodies might predict poor response to DXM-RTX in ITP patients.

Vücut Kitle İndeksi ve Kan Gruplarının İmmün Trombositopeni Tedavisine Etkisi

Background: The effects of body mass index (BMI) and blood groups on immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) are not clearly known. This study aims to investigate the effect of BMI and blood groups on the treatment of ITP. Materials and Methods: All cases included in this study were primary ITP patients. Body measure-ments, treatment history, demographic, and laboratory data were recorded. The data obtained were analyzed after the patients were divided into groups based on BMI and blood groups. Results: The study included 68 (100%) cases, 53 of which were female (77.9%). The median age of the cases was 44 years (min: 18, max: 87). The median BMI was 28.05 (min: 17.6, max: 51.4), and patients with normal weight, overweight, and obesity were found in 24 (35.3%), 20 (29.4%), and 24 (35.3%) cases, respectively. According to blood groups, 29 (42.6%), 20 (29.4%), 11 (16.2%), and 8 (11.8%) cases had blood groups A, O, B, and AB, respectively. The analysis of BMI and blood groups together with demographic and laboratory variables revealed that patients with obesity had a higher mean age (p=0.049) and lactate dehydrogenase levels (p&amp;lt;0.001) than other BMI groups. In the analysis of treat-ment responses, it was found that using eltrombopag in the second-line treatment in the patients with normal weight group was associated with a better response than other BMI groups (p=0.025). Conclusions: This is the first study to look investigate the relationship between BMI and ITP therapy. According to the results of our study, we believe that BMI should be considered in the selection of second-line therapy for ITP.

Pediatrik İmmün Trombositopeni (İTP) Vakalarının ve Kronik İTP için Risk Faktörlerinin Değerlendirilmesi - Tek Merkez Deneyimi

Aim: Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is the most common acquired bleeding disorder in childhood. The study aimed to assess the demographic and clinical characteristics, and treatment responses and to evaluate their effects on chronicity in pediatric ITP cases.&#x0D; Material and Methods: Primary ITP patients aged 1 month to 18 years, who were diagnosed and followed up in the Pediatrics Clinic of Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Hospital between January 2010 and December 2018, were retrospectively analyzed.&#x0D; Results: Thirty-eight patients with a diagnosis of primary ITP were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 94.3±53.4 (14-199) months. The female/male ratio was 1. Twenty (57.1%) patients had acute ITP, and 15 (42.9%) patients had chronic ITP. There was no significant difference between the acute ITP group and the chronic ITP group in demographic, clinical features, laboratory findings, and treatment responses. In the first 12 months, the number of admissions with a platelet count of

The Outcomes and Adverse Drug Patterns of Immunomodulators and Thrombopoietin Receptor Agonists in Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia Egyptian Patients with Hemorrhage Comorbidity.

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) treatment has evolved recently. However, none of the treatments have only benefits without drawbacks. This study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes and adverse drug patterns of Eltrombopag, Romiplostim, Prednisolone + Azathioprine, High Dose-dexamethasone (HD-DXM) (control group), and Rituximab in primary ITP Egyptian patients. All patients were initiated with corticosteroids, HD-DXM, as a first-line treatment for the first month immediately following diagnosis. Four hundred sixty-seven ITP patients were randomly assigned to five groups. The outcome measures were judged at baseline, at the end of treatment (6 months), and after an additional 6-month free treatment period. The follow-up period for which relapse is noted was 6 months after the end of treatment. Eltrombopag and Romiplostim resulted in a significantly higher incidence of sustained response than Rituximab, HD-DXM, and Prednisolone + Azathioprine (55.2% and 50.6% vs. 29.2%, 29.1%, and 18%, respectively; p-value < 0.001). More patients on immunomodulators (Prednisolone+ Azathioprine, HD-DXM, and Rituximab) relapsed than those on Romiplostim and Eltrombopag (81.9%, 70.8%, and 70.7% vs. 49.3%, and 44.7%, respectively; p-value < 0.01). We also describe 23 reports of pulmonary hypertension with Prednisolone+ Azathioprine and 13 reports with HD-DXM. The thrombotic events occurred in 16.6% and 13% of patients who received Eltrombopag and Romiplostim treatment, respectively. Most patients had at least one or two risk factors (92.8% of cases). Corticosteroids are effective first-line therapy in primary ITP patients. However, relapse is frequent. Eltrombopag and Romiplostim are safer and more effective than Prednisolone, HD-DXM, and Rituximab. They might be reasonable beneficial options after a one-month HD-DXM regimen.

Imbalance of follicular regulatory T (Tfr) cells/follicular helper T (Tfh) cells in adult patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia.

This study is to investigate the role of follicular regulatory T (Tfr) cells/follicular helper T (Tfh) cells imbalance in adult patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Totally, 40 cases of primary ITP patients and 30 healthy controls were enrolled. Blood samples were collected from ITP patients (pre- and post-therapy) and controls. Flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of Tfr and Tfh cells in peripheral blood. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to detect the mRNA expression levels of FOXP3, BCL-6, and BLIMP-1. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted to detect interleukin (IL)-10 and IL-21 levels. Spearman's correlation was used for correlation analysis. Compared with control, Tfr cell proportion, FOXP3 mRNA, and IL-10 were significantly decreased in the pre-therapy ITP group, but were significantly increased post-therapy. Tfh cell proportion, BCL-6 mRNA, and IL-21 were increased, while BLIMP-1 mRNA was decreased, in the pre-therapy ITP group than the control group. These effects were reversed in the post-therapy ITP group. Moreover, the Tfr/Tfh ratio was decreased in the pre-therapy ITP group than control group, whereas was increased in the post-therapy ITP group than the pre-therapy ITP group. Furthermore, Tfr cell proportion, FOXP3 mRNA, IL-10, and Tfr/Tfh ratio were positively correlated with the platelet count (PLT) in the ITP pre-therapy group. In addition, Tfh cell proportion, BCL-6 mRNA, and IL-21 were negatively correlated with the PLT, while BLIMP-1 mRNA was positively correlated with the PLT. Conclusively, Tfr cell proportion in peripheral blood is decreased and Tfh cell proportion is increased, leading to unbalanced Tfr/Tfh ratio in ITP patients pre-therapy. The imbalance of Tfr/Tfh is recovered post-therapy, suggesting that the Tfr and Tfh cells may be involved in ITP pathogenesis. The abnormal expression of FOXP3, BCL-6, and BLIMP-1 mRNA and the changes in IL-10 and IL-21 levels may be related to the imbalance of Tfr/Tfh.

The Impact of Human Platelet Antigen Allele on Antiplatelet Antibodies and Cryoglobulins in Patients with Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia and Hepatitis C Virus-Associated Immune Thrombocytopenia.

Human platelet antigens (HPAs) are alloantigens associated with antiplatelet alloantibodies and the risk of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). However, few studies have investigated associations among HPAs, antiplatelet autoantibodies, and cryoglobulins. We enrolled 43 patients with primary ITP, 47 with hepatitis C virus-associated ITP (HCV-ITP), 21 with hepatitis B virus-associated ITP (HBV-ITP), 25 controls with HCV, and 1013 normal controls. We analyzed HPA allele frequencies, including HPA1-6 and 15, antiplatelet antibodies binding to platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa, Ia/IIa, Ib/IX, IV, human leukocyte antigen class I, cryoglobulin IgG/A/M, and their associations with thrombocytopenia. In the ITP cohort, HPA2ab, rather than HPA2aa, predicted a low platelet count. HPA2b was associated with the risk of developing ITP. HPA15b was correlated with multiple antiplatelet antibodies. In HCV-ITP patients, HPA3b was correlated with anti-GPIIb/IIIa antibodies. HCV-ITP patients with anti-GPIIb/IIIa antibodies had a higher positive rate of cryoglobulin IgG and IgA compared with those without anti-GPIIb/IIIa antibodies. Overlapping detection was also found among other antiplatelet antibodies and cryoglobulins. Like the antiplatelet antibodies, cryoglobulins were associated with clinical thrombocytopenia, implying their close relationship. Finally, we extracted cryoglobulins to confirm the exhibition of cryoglobulin-like antiplatelet antibodies. In contrast, in primary ITP patients, HPA3b was correlated with cryoglobulin IgG/A/M rather than anti-GPIIb/IIIa antibodies. HPA alleles were associated with antiplatelet autoantibodies and had different impacts in primary ITP and HCV-ITP patients. HCV-ITP was considered to be a symptom of mixed cryoglobulinemia in HCV patients. The pathophysiology may differ between these two groups.

Proinflammatory plasticity towards Th17 paradigm of regulatory T cells consistent with elevated prevalence of TGFBR2 variants in elderly patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia

BackgroundPrimary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is characterized for the skewed Th differentiation towards Th1 and Th17 cells as well as the impaired number and function of regulatory T cells (Tregs). Tregs are capable of co-expressing effector Th markers in different inflammatory milieu, which probably indicates Treg dysfunction and incompetence to counter over-activated immune responses.MethodsNinety-two primary ITP patients from March 2013 to December 2018 were included, and proinflammatory plasticity in different Treg compartments, age groups, and TGFBR2 variant carrier status were investigated.ResultsPatients were categorized into elderly (n = 44) and younger (n = 48) groups according to an age of 50 years at disease onset. The overall remission rate was 82.6% after first-line regimens, including 47.8% complete remission. TGFBR2 variants were found in 7 (7.6%) patients with three V216I and four T340M heterozygote carriers. ITP patients demonstrated elevated co-expression of IL-17 and decreased co-expression of both IFN-γ and IL-13 than health control (all p < 0.01). The elderly group demonstrated elevated prevalence of TGFBR2 variants (p = 0.037) and elevated co-expression of IL-17 (p = 0.017) in Tregs, while female predominance was found in the younger group (p = 0.037). In the elderly group, TGFBR2 variant carriers demonstrated further elevated co-expression of IL-17 (p = 0.023) and decreased co-expression of both IFN-γ (p = 0.039) and IL-13 (p = 0.046) in the aTreg compartment.ConclusionsOur findings revealed additional aberrations of Treg proinflammatory plasticity in elderly primary ITP patients, and highlighted the potential role of Treg dysfunction and senescence in the pathogenesis and management among these patients.

Plasma long noncoding RNAs lncDC and THRIL as potential diagnostic markers of adult primary immune thrombocytopenia.

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a common acquired hemorrhagic disease without "gold standard" for the diagnosis, long non-coding RNA (lncRNAs) can participate in regulating gene expression through various mechanisms and may play a role in immune intolerance in ITP. Several previous studies have confirmed that lncRNA lncDC and THRIL are involved in the development of autoimmune diseases. This study investigates the relationship between expression levels of two plasma lncRNAs (lncDC and THRIL) and clinical characteristics of adult primary ITP patients, ascertain their potential applications as diagnostic markers of ITP. We recruited 102 subjects, including 41 ITP patients, 41 healthy controls (HCs) and 20 patients under myelosuppression phase after chemotherapy (MS). qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of two lncRNAs in the peripheral blood plasma of the three groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to test the diagnostic efficacy of lncDC and THRIL in ITP. The expression level of lncDC was downregulated in ITP patients compared with HCs (p=. 012) and MS (p=.035), whereas THRIL was significantly upregulated (p=.0005, p < . 0001). We further revealed that lncDC has a high sensitivity (78. 05%), while THRIL has a high specificity (97. 56%). The area under the curve (AUC) (0.869, 95% CI: 0.795-0.943, p < .0001) of the ROC curve for this combination increased significantly. THRIL and lncDC expression levels were changed in adult ITP patients. The lncRNAs lncDC and THRIL can serve as potential diagnostic markers for adult primary ITP.