A Novel Mutation in the NBD Domain of NLRC4 Causes Mild Autoinflammation With Recurrent Urticaria

BACKGROUND: NOD-like receptor family CARD-containing 4 protein (NLRC4) is a cytosolic protein that forms an inflammasome in response to flagellin and type 3 secretion system (T3SS) proteins from invading Gram-negative bacteria. NLRC4 mutations have been recently identified in early-onset severe autoinflammatory disorders. In this study, we reported a novel mutation in NLRC4 in two Chinese patients, who manifested with recurrent urticaria and arthralgia. METHODS: We summarized the clinical data of the two patients. Gene mutations were identified by whole-exome sequencing (WES). Swiss-PdbViewer was used to predict the pathogenicity of the identified mutations. Cytokine levels and caspase-1 activation were detected in the patient PBMCs with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. All previously published cases with NLRC4 mutations were reviewed. RESULTS: We identified a missense heterozygous mutation (c.514G>A, p.Gly172Ser), which was located in the highly conserved residue of nucleotide-binding domain (NBD) of NLRC4. The mutation did not alter the expression of NLRC4 protein, but induced considerably much higher production of IL-1β and IL-6 in patient PBMCs than in healthy controls after LPS stimulation. Four NLRC4 inflammasomopathy phenotypes have been described, with severe inflammatory diseases including macrophage activation syndrome, enterocolitis and NOMID in patients with mutations in the NBD and HD1 domains, whereas a mild clinical phenotype was associated with two mutations in the WHD domain of NLRC4. CONCLUSION: We identified a novel mutation in the NBD domain, and the patients just presented with a mild inflammatory phenotype. Thus, our findings reinforce the diversity of NLRC4 mutations and expand the clinical spectrum of associated diseases.