Frontiers in Immunology (Aug 2019)

Magnesium Restores Activity to Peripheral Blood Cells in a Patient With Functionally Impaired Interleukin-2-Inducible T Cell Kinase

  • Matthew K. Howe,
  • Kennichi Dowdell,
  • Amitava Roy,
  • Julie E. Niemela,
  • Wyndham Wilson,
  • Joshua J. McElwee,
  • Jason D. Hughes,
  • Jeffrey I. Cohen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2019.02000
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

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Interleukin-2-inducible T cell kinase (ITK) is critical for T cell signaling and cytotoxicity, and control of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). We identified a patient with a novel homozygous missense mutation (D540N) in a highly conserved residue in the kinase domain of ITK who presented with EBV-positive lymphomatoid granulomatosis. She was treated with interferon and chemotherapy and her disease went into remission; however, she has persistent elevation of EBV DNA in the blood, low CD4 T cells, low NK cells, and nearly absent iNKT cells. Molecular modeling predicts that the mutation increases the flexibility of the ITK kinase domain impairing phosphorylation of the protein. Stimulation of her T cells resulted in reduced phosphorylation of ITK, PLCγ, and PKC. The CD8 T cells were moderately impaired for cytotoxicity and degranulation. Importantly, addition of magnesium to her CD8 T cells in vitro restored cytotoxicity and degranulation to levels similar to controls. Supplemental magnesium in patients with mutations in another protein important for T cell signaling, MAGT1, was reported to restore EBV-specific cytotoxicity. Our findings highlight the critical role of ITK for T cell activation and suggest the potential for supplemental magnesium to treat patients with ITK deficiency.

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