Birds of a Feather: Common Variable Immune Deficiencies

Objective: To update the reader on recently proposed common variable immune deficiency (CVID) diagnostic criteria, newly uncovered CVID pathobiology, freshly identified CVID-related genes, and novel CVID therapies.

Data Sources: PubMed Central.

Study Selections: We selected 60 clinical and translational research articles that have shaped CVID diagnostic criteria, introduced personalized therapies, and advanced our understanding of CVID biology and genetics. We have incorporated recent articles and older published work that are foundational to the modern understanding of this protean disease.

Results: CVID has proven to be a heterogenous group of antibody deficiency diseases driven by defects in diverse biologic processes, including B-cell development, activation, tolerance, class-switch recombination, somatic hypermutation, and lymphoproliferation. Recent genetic advances have enabled identification of several CVID-related gene defects that may contribute to patients' infectious and noninfectious symptoms.

Conclusion: Improved understanding of the aberrant biologic processes that drive CVID and the disease's genetic basis may be useful in directing therapeutic decisions, especially in cases complicated by autoimmune, lymphoproliferative, and inflammatory features.