Genotype/phenotype correlations in X-linked agammaglobulinemia

Abstract

No clear genotype/phenotype correlations have been established in patients with X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA). To determine if the specific mutation in Btk might be one of the factors that influences the severity of disease or if polymorphic variants in Tec, a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase that might substitute for Btk, could contribute to the clinical phenotype, we examined the age at diagnosis, the percentage of peripheral blood B cells and the plasma IgM in a large group of patients with XLA. The results demonstrated that polymorphic variants in Tec were not correlated with phenotypic markers; however, the specific mutation in Btk did influence disease severity. Mutations that conceivably allow the production of some Btk, amino acid substitutions or splice defects that occur at conserved but not invariant sites in the splice consensus sequence were associated with older age at diagnosis, a higher percentage of B cells in the peripheral circulation and higher concentrations of plasma IgM.