Key Points• High anti-ADAMTS13 antibody and low ADAMTS13 antigen levels adversely affect outcome in immunemediated TTP with greater mortality seen.• A raised troponin at presentation confers a sixfold increase and reduced GCS a nine-fold increase in mortality in acute TTP.Immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a life-threatening disorder caused by antibodies against ADAMTS13. From the United Kingdom TTP registry, we undertook a prospective study investigating the impact of the presenting anti-ADAMTS13 IgG antibody and ADAMTS13 antigen on mortality. A total of 312 episodes involving 292 patients over 87 months were included; 68% were female, median age 46 (range, 11-88 years), and median presenting ADAMTS13 of <5% (range, <5%-18%). The mortality rate was 10.3% (n 5 32); 68% of patients had a raised troponin at presentation conferring a sixfold increase in mortality compared with those with normal troponin levels (12.1% vs 2.0%, P 5 .04). Twenty-four percent had a reduced Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) at presentation with a ninefold increase in mortality (20% vs 2.2% for normal GCS at presentation, P < .0001). Mortality increased with higher anti-ADAMTS13 antibody levels and lower ADAMTS13 antigen levels. Those with antibody levels in the upper quartile (antibody >77%) had a mortality of 16.9% compared with 5.0% for the lowest quartile (antibody <20%) (P 5 .004). Those with an antigen level in the lowest quartile (antigen <1.5%) had a mortality of 18% compared with 3.8% for the highest quartile (antigen >11%) (P 5 .005). The synergistic effect of anti-ADAMTS13 IgG antibody in the upper quartile and ADAMTS13 antigen in the lowest quartile had the highest mortality of 27.3%. We conclude that both anti-ADAMTS13 IgG antibody and ADAMTS13 antigen levels correlate with outcome in TTP with increased cardiac and neurological involvement and increased mortality. (Blood. 2017;130(4):466-471)

Complement dysregulation is key in the pathogenesis of atypical Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome (aHUS), but no clear role for complement has been identified in Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP). We aimed to assess complement activation and cytokine response in acute antibody-mediated TTP. Complement C3a and C5a and cytokines (interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, tumour necrosis factor, interferon-γ and IL-17a) were measured in 20 acute TTP patients and 49 remission cases. Anti-ADAMTS13 immunoglobulin G (IgG) subtypes were measured in acute patients in order to study the association with complement activation. In acute TTP, median C3a and C5a were significantly elevated compared to remission, C3a 63·9 ng/ml vs. 38·2 ng/ml (P < 0·001) and C5a 16·4 ng/ml vs. 9·29 ng/ml (P < 0·001), respectively. Median IL-6 and IL-10 levels were significantly higher in the acute vs. remission groups, IL-6: 8 pg/ml vs. 2 pg/ml (P = 0·003), IL-10: 6 pg/ml vs. 2 pg/ml (P < 0·001). C3a levels correlated with both anti-ADAMTS13 IgG (rs = 0·604, P = 0·017) and IL-10 (rs = 0·692, P = 0·006). No anti-ADAMTS13 IgG subtype was associated with higher complement activation, but patients with the highest C3a levels had 3 or 4 IgG subtypes present. These results suggest complement anaphylatoxin levels are higher in acute TTP cases than in remission, and the complement response seen acutely may relate to anti-ADAMTS13 IgG antibody and IL-10 levels.

ADAMTS13 activity assays are sometimes useful in confirming the clinical diagnosis or to distinguish different thrombotic microangiopathies (TMA). We investigated the commonly used clinical assays for ADAMTS13 activity. 159 samples from normal subjects or acquired TMA patients were studied in collagen binding (CBA), Fret and chromogenic peptide substrate assays. Frozen aliquots of pooled normal plasma gave similar values by CBA, Fret-VWF73 peptide, Fret-VWF86 and chromogenic VWF73 ELISA (chr-VWF73). Two lyophilised commercial calibrants gave lower ADAMTS13 activity by CBA than peptide substrate assays. The addition of solid HEPES to normal plasma caused a significant fall in CBA, but not Fret-VWF73 activity and might partly explain the differences, since lyophilised plasmas are often HEPES buffered. Normal plasmas showed good agreement between CBA and Fret assays, although chr-VWF73 gave slightly higher values. In acquired TMA, there was reasonable agreement between assays for samples with <11% ADAMTS13 activity (83% of samples showed agreement between CBA, Fret-VWF73 and chr-VWF73), but samples with moderate deficiency frequently showed lower CBA levels (only 41-52% agreement). However, there were also some discrepancies among the peptide substrate assays, with Fret-VWF86 sometimes giving slightly higher values than the VWF73 substrate assays. An International reference plasma might improve standardisation, but is not the only problem. It is unclear which assay has greatest clinical utility, this may depend on the nature of the sample. If the activity does not match the clinical picture, an alternative method should be performed. Where therapeutic monitoring is required, the same activity assay should be used throughout.

With close attention to normal ranges, commercial kits are suitable for use in the clinical diagnosis of thrombotic microangiopathies and frozen transportation of samples between sites is a suitable approach. However, a robust external quality control system is essential to provide an independent evaluation of changes in kit production.

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