Autoantibodies to Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Associated With Severe and Unusual Manifestations of Cryptococcus gattii Infections

Nancy F Crum-Cianflone; Pamela V Lam; Sarah Ross-Walker; Lindsey B Rosen; Steven M Holland

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofx211

Autoantibodies to Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Associated With Severe and Unusual Manifestations of Cryptococcus gattii Infections

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2017 Oct 5;4(4):ofx211. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofx211. eCollection 2017 Fall.

Authors

Nancy F Crum-Cianflone^{1

2

3}, Pamela V Lam¹, Sarah Ross-Walker⁴, Lindsey B Rosen⁵, Steven M Holland⁵

Affiliations

¹ Internal Medicine Department.
² Infectious Disease Division.
³ Infectious Disease Division, Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, California.
⁴ Pharmacy Department, Scripps Mercy Hospital, San Diego, California.
⁵ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.

Abstract

Cryptococcus gattii infections, especially including those with severe clinical manifestations, may be related to underlying host immunologic factors. We present 2 cases with autoantibodies to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), a key cytokine in macrophage function. Immunologic evaluation for anti-GM-CSF antibodies may be important to inform management and counseling.

Keywords: GM-CSF autoantibodies; cryptococcus; immune deficits; spinal epidural abscess.