Adult-onset immunodeficiency due to anti-interferon-gamma autoantibody in mainland Chinese

Abstract

Immunodeficiency due to anti-interferon-gamma (anti-IFN-γ) autoantibody is an emerging adult-onset immunodeficiency syndrome associated with severe or disseminated infections caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria,non-typhoidal salmonella,Burkholderia sp.,Penicillium marneffei,Cryptococcus neoformans,Histoplasma capsulatum,and varicella zoster virus (VZV) in non-HIV-infected patients caused by the presence of high-titer serum neutralizing anti-IFN-γ autoantibodies which inhibit IFN-γ-induced STAT1 phosphorylation and interleukin-12 production.1-3 It was first reported in an otherwise immunocompetent Filipino man with disseminated Mycobacterium chelonae infection in 2004.1 Since then,the condition has been increasingly reported in Asians including Filipino,Thai,Vietnamese,Japanese,and Chinese residents from Hong Kong and Taiwan,and less commonly in other ethnic groups.1,2