Medical Challenges of a Common Variable Immunodeficiency With a TNFRSF13B Gene Mutation in a Simultaneous Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Recipient

Common variable immune deficiency (CVID) is a primary immunodeficiency disorder, with hypogammaglobulinemia and increased susceptibility to recurrent infections, autoimmune disorders, granulomatous diseases and malignancy. Among the solid organ transplant (SOT) recipient population, those with primary immunodeficiency disorders under chronic immunosuppression therapy can theoretically be at higher risk of atypical infections, autoimmune complications and disease recurrence with suboptimal long term graft survival, but literature is scarce. Here, we report a 27-year-old female with type 1 diabetes mellitus, complicated with nephropathy that progressed to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), who had a history of a chronic inflammatory response dysregulation, with chronic monoarthritis, persistent elevation of inflammation markers, recurrent infections, low immunoglobulin G (IgG) and A (IgA) serum levels, a slightly decreased population of memory B cells at flow cytometric immunophenotyping, and a confirmed pathological heterozygous mutation in the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily 13B (TNFRSF13B), with a suspected diagnosis of CVID. Whilst on hemodialysis, she received a simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplant from a standard criteria donor (SCD), and our induction and maintenance immunosuppression protocol and prophylaxis regimen allowed for a successful transplant with immediate pancreatic function, with no evidence of renal graft rejection upon biopsy in the early post-transplant period, and no novel episodes of serious infectious complications were recorded during a follow-up period of six months.