NBAS Variants Are Associated with Quantitative and Qualitative NK and B Cell Deficiency

Purpose: Biallelic pathogenic NBAS variants manifest as a multisystem disorder with heterogeneous clinical phenotypes such as recurrent acute liver failure, growth retardation, and susceptibility to infections. This study explores how NBAS-associated disease affects cells of the innate and adaptive immune system.

Methods: Clinical and laboratory parameters were combined with functional multi-parametric immunophenotyping methods in fifteen NBAS-deficient patients to discover possible alterations in their immune system.

Results: Our study revealed reduced absolute numbers of mature CD56 natural killer (NK) cells. Notably, the residual NK cell population in NBAS-deficient patients exerted a lower potential for activation and degranulation in response to K562 target cells, suggesting an NK cell-intrinsic role for NBAS in the release of cytotoxic granules. NBAS-deficient NK cell activation and degranulation was normalized upon pre-activation by IL-2 in vitro, suggesting that functional impairment was reversible. In addition, we observed a reduced number of naïve B cells in the peripheral blood associated with hypogammaglobulinemia.

Conclusion: In summary, we demonstrate that pathogenic biallelic variants in NBAS are associated with dysfunctional NK cells as well as impaired adaptive humoral immunity.