Background A portion of sudden cardiac deaths (SCD) can be attributed to structural heart diseases such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) or cardiac channelopathies such as long QT syndrome (LQTS); however, the underlying molecular mechanisms are quite distinct. Here, we identify a novel CACNA1C missense mutation with mixed loss-of-function/gain-of-function responsible for a complex phenotype of LQTS, HCM, SCD, and congenital heart defects (CHDs). Methods and Results Whole exome sequencing (WES) in combination with Ingenuity Variant Analysis was completed on three affected individuals and one unaffected individual from a large pedigree with concomitant LQTS, HCM, and CHDs and identified a novel CACNA1C mutation, p.Arg518Cys, as the most likely candidate mutation. Mutational analysis of exon 12 of CACNA1C was completed on 5 additional patients with a similar phenotype of LQTS plus a personal or family history of HCM-like phenotypes, and identified two additional pedigrees with mutations at the same position, p.Arg518Cys/His. Whole cell patch clamp technique was used to assess the electrophysiological effects of the identified mutations in CaV1.2, and revealed a complex phenotype, including loss of current density and inactivation in combination with increased window and late current. Conclusions Through WES and expanded cohort screening, we identified a novel genetic substrate p.Arg518Cys/His-CACNA1C, in patients with a complex phenotype including LQTS, HCM, and CHDs annotated as cardiac-only Timothy syndrome. Our electrophysiological studies, identification of mutations at the same amino acid position in multiple pedigrees, and co-segregation with disease in these pedigrees provides evidence that p.Arg518Cys/His is the pathogenic substrate for the observed phenotype.

BackgroundThe effect of alterations in tidal volume on mortality of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is determined by respiratory system compliance. We aimed to investigate the effects of different tidal volumes on lung strain in ARDS patients who had various levels of respiratory system compliance.MethodsNineteen patients were divided into high (Chigh group) and low (Clow group) respiratory system compliance groups based on their respiratory system compliance values. We defined compliance ≥0.6 ml/(cmH2O/kg) as Chigh and compliance <0.6 ml/(cmH2O/kg) as Clow. End-expiratory lung volumes (EELV) at various tidal volumes were measured by nitrogen wash-in/washout. Lung strain was calculated as the ratio between tidal volume and EELV. The primary outcome was that lung strain is a function of tidal volume in patients with various levels of respiratory system compliance.ResultsThe mean baseline EELV, strain and respiratory system compliance values were 1873 ml, 0.31 and 0.65 ml/(cmH2O/kg), respectively; differences in all of these parameters were statistically significant between the two groups. For all participants, a positive correlation was found between the respiratory system compliance and EELV (R = 0.488, p = 0.034). Driving pressure and strain increased together as the tidal volume increased from 6 ml/kg predicted body weight (PBW) to 12 ml/kg PBW. Compared to the Chigh ARDS patients, the driving pressure was significantly higher in the Clow patients at each tidal volume. Similar effects of lung strain were found for tidal volumes of 6 and 8 ml/kg PBW. The “lung injury” limits for driving pressure and lung strain were much easier to exceed with increases in the tidal volume in Clow patients.ConclusionsRespiratory system compliance affected the relationships between tidal volume and driving pressure and lung strain in ARDS patients. These results showed that increasing tidal volume induced lung injury more easily in patients with low respiratory system compliance.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT01864668, Registered 21 May 2013.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13054-017-1600-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant brain tumor in adults, responsible for approximately 225,000 deaths per year. Despite pre-clinical successes, most interventions have failed to extend patient survival by more than a few months. Treatment with anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) monotherapy has been beneficial for malignant tumors such as melanoma and lung cancers but has yet to be effectively employed in GBM. This study aimed to determine whether supplementing anti-PD-1 ICB with engineered extended half-life IL-2, a potent lymphoproliferative cytokine, could improve outcomes. This combination therapy, subsequently referred to as enhanced checkpoint blockade (ECB), delivered intraperitoneally, reliably cures approximately 50% of C57BL/6 mice bearing orthotopic GL261 gliomas and extends median survival of the treated cohort. In the CT2A model, characterized as being resistant to CBI, ECB caused a decrease in CT2A tumor volume in half of measured animals similar to what was observed in GL261-bearing mice, promoting a trending survival increase. ECB generates robust immunologic responses, features of which include secondary lymphoid organ enlargement and increased activation status of both CD4 and CD8 T cells. This immunity is durable, with long-term ECB survivors able to resist GL261 rechallenge. Through employment of depletion strategies, ECB’s efficacy was shown to be independent of host MHC class I restricted antigen presentation but reliant on CD4 T cells. These results demonstrate ECB is efficacious against the GL261 glioma model through an MHC class I-independent mechanism and supporting further investigation into IL-2-supplemented ICB therapies for tumors of the central nervous system.