STAT6 gain-of-function variant exacerbates multiple allergic symptoms

Abstract

Background: Allergic diseases were long considered to be complex multifactorial disorders. However, recent findings indicate that severe allergic inflammation can be caused by monogenic immune defects.

Objectives: We sought to clarify the molecular pathogenesis of a patient with early-onset multiple allergic diseases, a high serum IgE level, hypereosinophilia, treatment-resistant severe atopic dermatitis with increased dermal collagen fiber deposition, and eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorder with numerous polypoid nodules.

Methods: A missense variant in STAT6 was identified, and its function was examined using peripheral blood, transfected HEK293 cells, lymphoblastoid cell lines, and knock-in mice with the corresponding mutation.

Results: Whole-exome sequencing identified a de novo heterozygous missense variant in signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) (p.Asp419Asn). Luciferase reporter assay revealed that the transcriptional activity of this STAT6 mutant was upregulated even without IL-4 stimulation. Phosphorylation of STAT6 was not observed in either the patient's T_H2 cells or lymphoblastoid cell lines without stimulation, whereas it was induced more strongly in both by IL-4 stimulation compared with healthy controls. STAT6 protein was present in the nuclear fraction of the lymphoblastoid cell lines of the patient even in the absence of IL-4 stimulation. The patient's gastric mucosa showed upregulation of STAT6-, fibrosis-, and germinal center formation-related molecules. Some of the knock-in mice with the corresponding mutation spontaneously developed dermatitis with skin thickening and eosinophil infiltration. Moreover, serum IgE levels and mRNA expression of type 2 cytokines were increased in the knock-in mice-with or without development of spontaneous dermatitis-compared with the wild-type mice.

Conclusions: A novel STAT6 gain-of-function variant is a potential cause of primary atopic disorders.

Keywords: STAT6; atopic dermatitis; eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorder; hyper-IgE syndrome; hypereosinophilia; primary atopic disorders.